Man who shot, killed mate in Corio caravan has sentence cut

John Nelis, 39, was last year sentenced in the Victorian Supreme Court to 11 years’ prison with a non-parole period of eight years after pleading guilty to shooting Christopher “Legsy” Jacobs.

The court heard Nelis didn’t know the double-barrelled shotgun was loaded and had “no hostility” toward Jacobs when he pointed the firearm at him inside a Corio caravan in front of witnesses.

It’s understood Nelis brought the firearm to the property with the intention of selling it.

This week, three Supreme Court appeals judges reduced Nelis’s sentence by three years after the defence counsel pointed out a technical error in the judge’s sentencing considerations.

When sentencing Nelis last year, Justice Lex Lasry made reference to “homicide by firearm” when explaining his reasoning to the court.

“As his sentencing remarks make clear, the judge thought that he was called upon to sentence the applicant for the offence of homicide by firearm, which – unlike the offence of manslaughter by gross negligence for which the applicant was actually to be sentenced – has a standard sentence of 13 years’ imprisonment,” the court papers revealed.

Upon the error being pointed out, the judge amended his reasoning, but the appeal argued he had “appreciated that manslaughter and homicide by firearm were distinct (albeit closely related) offences”.

But the three appeal judges found it was “likely” Justice Lasry determined the 11-year sentence was “appropriate” given the references in his sentencing remarks.

Nelis was instead re-sentenced to nine-years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of six years.

“It was grossly negligent of him to pull the trigger without first checking whether the firearm contained ammunition,” the Supreme Court appeal justices ruled.

“But he bore no malice towards Mr Jacobs and had not anticipated that Mr Jacobs might be at risk of harm when he did so.”

The court heard Nelis entered the Chaffey St caravan on July 4, 2020 and asked Mr Jacobs if he was wearing a bulletproof vest before shooting him in the stomach.

The bulletproof vest did not have its anti-ballistic panels fitted.

Witnesses reported hearing Nelis say he didn’t know the gun was loaded before fleeing the scene to dispose of the weapon.

He later told his mother he’d accidentally shot the victim and wanted to end his own life.

Nelis was on the run for 20 days before being arrested in Bell Post Hill.

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