By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A pair of intruders who stormed a home and were later involved in a shootout in a Pascoe Vale residential street have been jailed.
Murata Alessawi, of Epping, and Jaidyn Snowball, of Bundoora, both 18 at the time, pleaded guilty in the Victorian County Court to firing a gun at a premises with reckless disregard for safety and a string of other firearm charges over the gunfight.
Armed with high-powered, high-calibre weapons, the pair had been “commissioned” to visit a home in Surrey Street on 14 June 2022.
The job was listed as a note entitled ’Missions’ on Snowball’s phone, including a reference to a family being inside the house.
Wearing balaclavas and gloves, they arrived in a stolen van early that morning.
Snowball was armed with a semi-automatic handgun, Alessawi with a Soviet-model assault rifle and the van was packed with extra ammo.
However, they came under fire in the street by unidentified people. The pair took cover in a front yard and returned at least 25 rounds.
Most of the bullets were fired by Alessawi, who gave covering fire to allow Snowball to return to the van.
During the gun fight, a bullet travelled 950 metres and pierced two walls of a house and lodged in another house next door. There were several bullet holes in a front fence, and two vehicles with ricochet damage.
Soon after the pair’s escape, they were intercepted by armed police.
In sentencing on 6 October, Judge Carolene Gwynn said it was unclear whether Alessawi and Snowball’s “inherently dangerous” firing of the guns was part of the mission or spurred by coming under fire.
There were no victim impact statements but it would have been frightening for residents to be awoken by shooting, the judge noted.
“It’s very disturbing that this kind of military weapon or semi-automatic weapon is being used in a suburban street when the risk to others is perhaps obvious.
“It’s even more disturbing when these weapons are in the hands of 18 year olds commissioned as it would appear to perfom these acts.”
A month before the shootout, the pair were masked and gloved as they repeatedly kicked in the front door of the house in Narre Warren South.
Alessawi took out an imitation revolver, before the pair tore down a home CCTV camera and smashed a lounge room window to gain entry.
A terrified male boarder fled out the back door, jumped a fence and took shelter with a neighbour.
“It’s a home invasion. Someone is trying to kill me,” he told the neighbour.
“Call the police.”
Meanwhile the intruders searched bedrooms for the man.
One of the residents locked herself inside her bedroom. As the invaders kicked a hole in her door, she screamed out of fear.
Alessawi and Snowball returned to their hired van, which had its engine still running, and fled the area.
Judge Gwynn said the pair – who both pleaded guilty to home invasion – appeared to be again acting on instruction, and with an intent to assault.
Alessawi also pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice by making a false report to police that the hire van had been stolen from him.
When the duo were arrested in June 2022, Alessawi stuck to his false alibi during a police interview.
Alessawi also pleaded guilty to blackmail and further perverting the course of justice over his conduct after being released on bail.
He had demanded a motorcycle or car while threatening to put another victim and his family “in a ditch”.
Later, he demanded the victim falsely claim to be the driver of a Mercedes Benz that had fled from police.
Neither Alessawi or Snowball would reveal what was behind their ‘missions’. Both had no prior criminal histories.
Judge Gwynn noted their youthfulness gave them better prospects for rehabilitation.
But the offending, especially the shooting, was too “grave” to sentence them to youth justice centre orders – which have maximum four-year terms.
They were instead jailed in adult prisons, with “extended” non-parole periods to help their transition back into the community.
Judge Gwynn said she’d commend to the Adult Parole Board to exercise its power to transfer the pair in juvenile detention until they were 21 years old.
Snowball was jailed for up to seven years, with a four year and two month non-parole period. His term includes 479 days of pre-sentence remand.
Alessawi was imprisoned for up to eight years, and eligible for parole in four years and 10 months. He’d already served 378 days of his term in pre-sentence detention.
