A man who shot dead a young rapper in a violent home invasion to steal his rumoured $1 million has been jailed for more than a decade.
Masked and armed with a .22 calibre rifle, machete and Taser, Mustafa Alhassan and two others were lured by a belief Christopher Habiyakare was keeping a $1 million bounty in his suburban Melbourne home at Sunshine North.
Mr Habiyakare, who performed under the name Lyr1cure7, had friends over when they heard a knock on the door on the evening of August 24, 2021.
As the victim approached the door, Alhassan forced his way through, where a scuffle ensued through the hallway and into the living room.
With a rifle in hand, Alhassan pointed the barrel at Mr Habiyakare and fired a shot through his chest before fleeing in a stolen car.
As Mr Habiyakare struggled with his wound, getting back up before collapsing again, his friend August Niranyibagir was frantically giving CPR, but paramedics later declared him dead on arrival.
Despite character references portraying Alhassan as quiet, shy, non-violent and his act was out of character, Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale on Thursday questioned his remorse.
He sentenced Alhassan to 13 years in prison with a non-parole period of eight years after he pleaded guilty to homicide by firearm and handling stolen goods in October.
Alhassan stared straight ahead while Justice Beale handed down his sentence and was supported by his father Abdul and family members in court.
His co-offenders Daniel Sissal and Mohamed Mohamed pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were jailed for four years and nine years, respectively.
