Tara Murray
A St Albans man who was sentenced to 19 months jail last month over a 2019 shooting, is free from jail.
Joseph Johnson-Portelli was last month found guilty of shooting a man who came to his house to confront him about a debt in 2019.
Having served nearly two years in custody since his arrest, Johnson-Portelli was released on a community corrections order.
Johnson-Portelli, who grew up in Keilor Downs, pleaded guilty to two charges of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, one charge of reckless conduct endangering serious injury and possession of a drug of dependence, possession of cartridge ammunition without a license and possession of a prohibited weapon.
Johnson-Portelli was 18 at the time of the incident.
The court heard that five men, including Kane Nugent, attended Johnson-Portelli’s address to recover a debt owed by Johnson-Portelli. The men left shortly after, before returning a short time later.
Johnson-Portelli armed himself with an action pump rifle.
As his partner at the time of the incident had a family violence intervention order out on him, he was a prohibited person under the firearms act.
When the men returned, one of the group was armed with a machete.
The court heard that as the group approached the bungalow, Johnson-Portelli opened the front door and yelled that he had a gun. As the group continued to advance, Johnson-Portelli fired a shot and struck Mr Nugent in the abdomen.
The men then fled, with Johnson-Portelli chasing them off the property.
Mr Nugent, who provided a false statement to police about the incident, suffered extensive pelvic injuries as a result of the gunshot wound and was required to wear a colostomy bag.
The day of the incident Johnson-Portelli spoke with his father Anthony Portelli, who was in custody, about the incident.
Police later seized the tape of his conversation and executed two search warrants and Johnson-Portelli was later charged with a number of offences.
Judge Michael O’Connell said that he accepted that Johnson-Portelli had shown some remorse for his offending.
“Moreover, the plea indicates an acceptance of responsibility, particularly for the prohibited person in possession of firearms charges which in themselves are very serious offences,” Judge O’Connell said.
