Decades in jail for fatal suburban shooting spree

A man who killed a neighbour in a shooting spree when irritated by loud music will spend up to 42 years behind bars.

Bradley Jason Mark White sprayed more than 220 bullets from his house, hitting four properties, at Wyong on the NSW Central Coast, over a 45-minute period on March 17, 2020.

Using two unregistered rifles he killed Byron Tonks, 20, with a shot to the chest, and hit Pamela Dickinson, Albert Tonks and at least two others who were inside their homes or on the street.

Mr Tonks dropped to the floor, telling his family he could not breath.

"He told them that he knew he was dying," NSW Supreme Court Justice Mark Ierace said during sentencing on Friday.

White told police the rampage started after he became irate with three young neighbours who played loud music and rattled his fence, as well as other neighbours who were talking about him and staring.

"The way they were staring gave me a feeling that made the hairs on my neck stand up," he told officers after he surrendered.

Judge Ierace sentenced White to a maximum of 42 years in prison, backdated to his arrest on the day of the shooting. This sentence will expire in 2062.

"The offender was motivated by a retributive rage for perceived and unfounded wrongs ... which even if true were trivial in nature," the judge said.

"He intended to cause significant suffering to those who were subjected to the attack."

White must remain in prison until at least 2050, before being eligible for parole.

The former baker was found guilty by a jury of one count of murder, two counts of discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and four counts of recklessly shooting at a dwelling.

After attempting to coax one of the teens out by twice setting fire to his ute, White got into an argument with neighbours and went to his house to get the guns.

"I felt that police were coming anyway so I thought f*** it, I'm just going to go hard," he later told police.

In video taken during the shooting, White is heard taunting people as a hail of bullets rains down.

"I'm going to kill you all. I warned you. Get out from behind the cars, you cowards."

Judge Ierace said that while White apologised to the court and Mr Tonk's family, he had couched this in "heavily qualified regret" saying that his family had also "lost" a family member as he would have to go to prison.

Mr Tonk was described as an animal lover, who was close to his family, and had a positive and loving personality.

White had taken both methylamphetamine and cannabis at the time of the rampage, but the judge found the drugs did not impair the shooter's ability to realise what he was doing.

The judge also found White's mental impairments, including a brain injury he suffered from being beaten up by a gang armed with baseball bats in 2000, did not affect his ability to determine whether his actions were wrong.

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