Mitchell Jay Dow pleads guilty to Whittington drug debt shooting

A Whittington drug debt collection spiralled out of control when a tattooed criminal shot a man in the neck over $25,000, as a judge has sought clarity around the shooter’s mental state.

Mitchell Jay Dow. Picture: Facebook.

A Whittington drug debt collection spiralled out of control when a tattooed criminal shot a man in the neck over $25,000, a court has heard.

Mitchell Jay Dow, 30, appeared in the County Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to attempted armed robbery, making a threat to kill, discharging a firearm at a premises, recklessly causing injury, theft, intentional destruction of property and possessing a weapon as a prohibited person.

Dow arrived at a home on Freesia Crt on March 22 last year to “kneecap” a man who owed him $25,000, the court heard.

When denied the money, he elected to take a motorbike instead.

Mitchell Jay Dow. Picture: Facebook.

However, the man Dow shot did not owe him a cent, the court heard, but was a friend of the debtor who had refused to hand over the keys to the motorbike.

Dow’s barrister Molly Deighton told the court her client had not intended to injure his victim when he opened fire on a shed the victim was inside.

The victim was pretending to look for the keys when he was shot.

However, judge Dempsey said it was a “stretch” to conclude Dow had fired the gun “simply to frighten” the man into coming out of the shed, given he fired at “chest height”.

The court heard Dow became “frustrated” before he shot the man in the neck.

Ms Deighton told the court that Dow had expressed “disbelief and remorse” and was “appreciative that it could have been far, far worse”.

Judge Marcus Dempsey said while Dow may not have intended to injure his victim, he was “totally indifferent to the probability he would”.

Ms Deighton said Dow had “reflected on his actions and is developing insight into their severity”.

The court heard Dow had been placed on a community corrections order in February 2023, but had quickly relapsed into ice use and stopped taking his medication for conditions including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The court heard a psychological report tendered by the defence needed “rigorous exploration”.

Judge Dempsey said the account given in the report as bordering on a “mental impairment defence”, as it described Dow as suffering from “intense paranoia” and “hallucinations”.

“I can’t see how that manifests in the offending. It seems anything but delusional,” Judge Dempsey said.

“This is highly purposive, directed, targeted, focused conduct. I can see no evidence of disordered thought. I can see no evidence of delusions.”

Judge Dempsey told the court he would like to hear expert evidence from the psychologist, in order to unpack the case’s nuance and ensure he delivered the correct sentence.

“I will be assisted to no-end, by expert evidence that can be questioned and tested,” he said.

“The quality of justice that this court will offer will be higher.”

Judge Dempsey adjourned the matter, and told Dow his “short, medium and long-term future depends in no small way on what happens in this court case”.

“We only have one opportunity to get it right,” he said.

Dow will reappear in court at a later date.

Originally published as Mitchell Jay Dow pleads guilty to Whittington drug debt shooting