Judge rules gun supplier should serve more time than shooter in Ipswich brawl manslaughter case

A Supreme Court judge has ruled a man who sourced the gun used to kill another man in an Ipswich brawl should spend more time in jail than the man who pulled the trigger.

In July 2021, Tye Bickle, Brayden Wilson-Knight and a teenage boy were charged with the murder of Carlo Stewart.

Mr Stewart died in hospital after suffering three gunshot wounds during a brawl between two groups outside a North Booval home.

Earlier this month the three men, now aged between 22 and 33, pleaded guilty to several charges, including a downgraded offence of manslaughter, and faced a sentencing hearing last week.

Due to how much time has passed since their arrest, the then-16-year-old boy involved was sentenced as an adult and can now be identified as Wilson-Knight's younger brother, Kobi Wilkins.

On Thursday Wilkins and Bickle were handed wholly suspended 5-year prison terms, while Wilson-Knight was jailed for nine years.

Fatal brawl sparked by stolen motorbikes

The court previously heard the fatal brawl stemmed from Mr Stewart wanting to help his friend retrieve stolen motorbikes, which had been sold to Wilson-Knight unknowingly.

Wilson-Knight planned to meet Mr Stewart in a public car park to exchange the motorbikes for cash, and he asked his brother and friend to go with him.

Instead of meeting at the arranged location, Mr Stewart decided to go to Wilson-Knight's home, and he brought several men with him, including some wearing gloves, masks and hoods.

When Wilson-Knight, who had been armed with an unregistered .22 calibre handgun, was told the group had gone there instead, where his wife and children were alone, he returned to his house with Bickle and Wilkins.

When they arrived, CCTV captured Mr Stewart saying "you boys have our bikes", before Wilson-Knight pulls the gun from his pants.

A fight broke out between the two men, and Mr Stewart told Wilson-Knight to shoot him, which he attempted to do, but the weapon did not fire.

Mr Stewart then punched Wilson-Knight in the face and armed himself with a baseball bat.

During this time, Bickle gained possession of the gun, but was immediately struck in the head with the bat by Mr Stewart which caused a serious head injury.

Bickle then fired 10 shots indiscriminately in about seven seconds, and three of the bullets connected with Mr Stewart.

Victim's mother describes him as 'lovable larrikin'

Several people provided victim impact statements to the court including Mr Stewart's mother Kay Stewart, who described her son as her "lovable larrikin".

"How can something so tragic happen to such a good-hearted person," she said in her statement.

Ms Stewart penned that "Carlo was my first love" and she has "been in hell" since his death.

"I cannot describe the pain of losing your first born … he was my everything," she said.

His partner Bonita Ruben said in her statement that Mr Stewart was a "devoted and deeply loving father figure" to her daughter, who worked hard for their family.

She wrote that Mr Stewart was "loud, energetic and larger than life" and the pain she felt when he died was "unlike anything I'd ever experienced".

Shooter was 'hurt, dazed and disoriented', judge finds

When handing down their sentences on Thursday, Justice Peter Callaghan told the court no punishment would change the "awful reality" faced by Mr Stewart's loved ones.

"The story of grief will continue to be told irrespective of anything that occurs here," he said.

Justice Callaghan acknowledged Mr Stewart and his group had been "hostile and menacing" when they deviated and went to Wilson-Knight's home and were "intent on their own brand of law enforcement".

"The momentum towards a violent encounter was gathering and became unstoppable once Mr Stewart's group changed the plan," he said.

He accepted Wilson-Knight would have been "horrified and frightened" by the group descending on his family home but his decision to arm himself with a loaded gun, warranted a harsher penalty to "denounce and deter" others from similar offending.

Wilson-Knight was given a head sentence of nine years in prison.

When sentencing Bickle, Justice Callaghan told the court although he was the principal offender and had "voluntarily placed himself into a potentially violent situation", his case was unique.

"This offence of manslaughter is marked by a number of features which has not been present in any other case of manslaughter dealt with by this court," he said.

He accepted Bickle had no prior knowledge of the gun, was not "proactively aggressive" in the altercation before being handed it, was severely injured and "scared and in a state of panic" when he shot Mr Stewart.

"He was hurt, dazed and disoriented," he said.

Bickle was sentenced to five years in jail wholly suspended and given immediate parole for two grievous bodily harm charges.

The same sentence was handed to Wilkins, and both men were free to leave the dock.

Their pre-sentence custody was not declared as time served, however 270 days that Wilson-Knight served on remand, was.

He will be eligible to apply for parole in April, 2028.