A teenager shot an air gun at members of the public in Gore, before targeting a roadworker, a court has heard.
Caleb Sinclair, 19, received a good behaviour bond in the Gore District Court today for shooting at shoppers in the city centre and injuring the maintenance worker in November.
The court heard on the afternoon of November 6; the 19-year-old sat in the backseat of a moving car firing a black Airsoft Pistol out the window at passersby.
The car then travelled onto Robertson St, where a group of roadworkers were operating, and the defendant shot the victim in the leg.
The worker said the impact of the shot caused her immense pain and she cried, later developing a large purple bruise.
Defence counsel Scott Williamson said his client's actions were "youthful stupidity" that were in no way "premeditated".
The two convictions were punishment enough, Mr Williamson said, as Sinclair would probably never be able to hold a firearms licence or travel overseas easily as a result.
Judge Mark Williams said comments the defendant made directly after the incident - that he could not see how the shot could have hurt the victim - highlighted the man’s immaturity.
In a report before the court, however, Sinclair said he later regretted his actions.
The judge rejected the defence’s idea that there was no premeditation as the teen had been repeatedly firing at members of the public in the lead-up to hitting the victim.
If the defendant was in his 20s or had previous convictions, Judge Williams said, his sentence would be "very different”.
The man was ordered to pay $250 to the victim and to come up if called upon for 12 months.
Destruction of the weapon was also ordered.
