A 33-year-old man who supplied the shotgun used to murder Billy Ray Waters and then helped dispose of it afterwards was sentenced in the Supreme Court in Launceston to six years' jail.
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Christopher Leigh Brown, of Mowbray, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact of murder, trafficking in cannabis and dealing with a firearm when not the holder of a firearms' licence in August 2019.
Teenagers William Adair Rothwell and Jacob Michael Brennan were jailed for 26 years after pleading guilty to the August 4, 2019, murder last year.
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Brown was originally charged with murder but the Crown dropped the charge.
Justice Michael Brett said that Brown should serve at least four years' jail from his arrest in August 2019 before being eligible for parole.
The court heard that Brown sold the weapon to Rothwell four days before the murder.
Brown was aware that Rothwell was angry with Mr Waters for stealing cannabis and suggested he should be taught a lesson.
"Someone should tap him," Brown said.
The 12-gauge single-barrel shotgun was used by Rothwell and Brennan to shoot Mr Waters in the leg in bushland near Mayfield and it was then used to fatally wound him with a shot to the back of the head.
Brown also supplied a single shotgun cartridge.
Justice Brett said that it was a serious example of the crime of being an accessory after the fact.
He said that Brown's moral culpability was aggravated by the fact that he had provided comfort and support to Rothwell and Brennan after the murder.
He had also acted to cover up the murder by having Mr Waters' house key returned to flatmates.
Justice Brett said that the motive for the murder was likely to revolve around Rothwell's relationship with Brown and a desire to continue selling cannabis.
But he said that while in hindsight the purpose of Rothwell's purchase of the shotgun was to murder Mr Watson at the time of the sale Brown did not know of any plan or intention to kill.
"You had no expectation that he would harm Mr Waters at all," he said.
"If you had done so the likely probable consequence could well be you standing trial for inciting the murder as originally charged.
"The objective seriousness is extremely high, it was the weapon actually used to murder Mr Waters."
He said that Rothwell rang Brown within hours of the murder
In relation to the trafficking charge, the court heard Brown had sold drugs to Rothwell who then sold them to young people at Royal Park.
"It is aggravating that you were supplying cannabis to someone who was onselling to young people," Justice Brett said.
Brown was serving a sentence for possession of cannabis and firearms offences at the time of the trafficking.
When arrested on August 17 police seized $3165 from Brown. At the time of his arrest, Rothwell had $1600.
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