One jailed, one freed over Vic shooting

Two men who fired a gun into a car in Melbourne in 2013 have been given short jail sentences.

The son of a murderer and the son of a murdered man have been sentenced to jail for firing a gun at a Victorian man sitting in a car.

The pair have also been ordered to serve community corrections orders.

Shannon Cooke, 22, walked free after being sentenced, having already served his 422-day jail term in pre-sentence detention.

His co-accused, Constantine Likiardopoulos, 25, was sentenced to 10 months jail, of which he has already served 162 days.

Both men, who regard themselves as brothers, pleaded guilty to reckless conduct by firing a gun into a car in Meadow Heights in 2013.

One of them said: "You're going to get popped", before the trigger was pulled.

Victorian County Court Judge Elizabeth Gaynor on Thursday said they had co-operated with police to a point, but neither would say who shot the gun.

"Each of you played an equal role in the offending," she said.

She said they both had a history of drug use and trauma in their lives and had grown up in environments that involved crime.

Likiardopoulos is the son of Dimitrios Likiardopoulos, who is serving a 20-year sentence for the torture and murder of an intellectually disabled man.

Cooke, whose estranged father was murdered in a dispute over a woman, came to see Likiardopoulos senior as like a father.

Judge Gaynor said to Cooke: "Your offending history traces the trauma in your life."

She praised them both for their devotion to their mothers, to whom they both acted as carers, saying this was the most "hopeful" aspect of their personalities.

"Both of you, through all the trauma of your lives, have been wonderful sons," Judge Gaynor.

In a letter to the court, Cooke said he had spent time with Likiardopoulos in prison while serving a sentence for another offence and it made him reassess his life.

"I then realised I didn't want to end up like that," Cooke wrote.

Judge Gaynor said the prosecution did not allege the gun was pointed at the head of their victim, and so they avoided facing more serious charges.


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Source: AAP


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