A man charged over a deadly home invasion sparked by a $250 drug debt could be released from custody in a little over two years.
Dean John Bell, 33, was today sentenced in the Victorian Supreme Court to seven years and six months behind bars for his role in the death of Griffin Harris on September 21, 2022.
But he could be released from custody much sooner, having already served close to two years of his non-parole period of four years and six months.
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Bell and three co-accused – Lachlan Kyle Belmore, Troy Allen Smith and Peter Batsanes – arrived at Harris’ Melbourne home about 4.10am, wearing balaclavas and armed with a rifle.
There had been growing animosity between Belmore and Harris over a $250 drug debt which escalated into angry texts and calls.
Smith and Batsanes banged and kicked the front door before retreating back to the car, waking Harris and his girlfriend inside.
Bell and Belmore, alleged to be holding the rifle, jumped the fence to get into the backyard but prosecutors say Bell did not enter the house.
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Harris’ girlfriend went to investigate the disturbance and came face-to-face with a masked man pointing the rifle at her head.
She ran next door for help and heard a man shout, “get the f*** down” before Harris yelled for help.
Harris’ head, arms and abdomen were beaten before he was fatally shot through the chest.
Prosecutors have not been able to prove who fired the shot and the firearm has never been recovered.
In her sentencing remarks, Justice Rita Incerti said Bell was not the primary offender and his involvement was far less serious than Belmore’s role.
She noted Bell pleaded guilty at an early stage to homicide by firearm, after first being charged with murder, and considered Bell’s prospects for rehabilitation to be reasonable.
Belmore was in May sentenced to nine years behind bars with a non-parole period of five years and six months after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Batsanes and Smith both pleaded guilty to home invasion and were sentenced in 2023.
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