Police & Court
Echuca’s Kevin Johnson jailed over ‘accidental shooting’ of Matthew Alexander
Echuca man Kevin Johnson has been jailed for nine years for the 2019 fatal shooting of “much-loved” father Matthew Alexander at his Daltons Bridge property.
Johnson, 37, pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter and was sentenced to nine years’ jail with a non-parole period of six years in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Friday, November 11.
His guilty plea had so far been suppressed from publication, as co-accused Daniel Oberin was due to face trial in December.
However, Mr Oberin died in September and his trial was discontinued.
In her sentencing remarks, Justice Lesley Taylor referred to the impact of Mr Alexander’s death on a devastated “close-knit family”.
She said his two young daughters had drawn pictures and described “how they each want to go to the moon to see their daddy”.
The court heard on the evening of September 12, 2019, Mr Alexander, 29, was at his property with two other men, taking ‘ice’ and working on a car in the driveway near a shed.
Meanwhile, Johnson and Mr Oberin met near Gunbower before travelling together to Daltons Bridge, in a ute bought by Johnson the week before.
They brought with them a loaded side-by-side sawn-off shotgun and arrived at Mr Alexander’s property just before 6am on September 13.
The court heard Mr Oberin believed Mr Alexander had a gas bottle from a MIG welder that had recently been stolen from his Gunbower farm.
At the property, Mr Oberin and Johnson approached the men, with Johnson firing a shot into the air and yelling at the men to get on the ground.
Mr Alexander remained standing while the other two were on the ground, and an argument and physical altercation broke out between he and Mr Oberin.
Mr Oberin went in and out of the shed demanding to know where a CCTV recording box was, and Johnson hit Mr Alexander with the shotgun, causing him to fall to the ground.
Mr Alexander told Mr Oberin where it was and he returned to the shed. Johnson continued to yell at Mr Alexander when the shotgun discharged, hitting Mr Alexander in the head while he was low down against a car.
Johnson said “yeah, I’ve killed him”, and said he would have to kill the other two men as well.
Johnson repeatedly said “I’ve killed him”, and tried to reload the shotgun, but the fore-end of the firearm detached and was left behind as Johnson and Mr Oberin fled to Echuca in the ute.
Meanwhile the two other men at the property called emergency services, fearing the pair would return, and one of them did CPR on Mr Alexander, who was still breathing.
When emergency services arrived just after 6.30am, Mr Alexander was pronounced dead.
Johnson was arrested on October 9, 2019 after he presented himself to Echuca Police Station.
The court heard Johnson, a proud Yorta Yorta man, had lived in Echuca for most of his life and has four children; one with whom he no longer has contact.
He completed Year 10 at school and went on to have a stable employment history, including nine years working in maintenance for Njernda Aboriginal Corporation where he was described as “reliable, unfailingly courteous, respectful and friendly”.
Justice Taylor said Johnson had been exposed to family violence as a child, and since he was a young teenager had battled problems with drugs and alcohol — supplied to him by family members.
Sometimes in his 20s he would use 2g of methamphetamines a day, and a psychologist diagnosed him with substance use disorder, now in remission due to being abstinent in custody.
Justice Taylor said while the shooting was accidental, Johnson had known the gun was old and in poor mechanical condition, he was intoxicated by methamphetamine and there was a level of planning involved.
She said his involvement was “far from spur of the moment” — having willingly gone to the property and armed himself.
She also said he was “utterly indifferent” to Mr Alexander once he was shot.
“Your actions in fleeing the scene were cowardly in the extreme,” Justice Taylor said.
She took into account his early plea of guilty, the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on his time in custody, his “tentative steps towards rehabilitation”, the support of his partner, mother-in-law and the community, and his disadvantaged childhood.
Justice Taylor said she found his prospects of rehabilitation “no more than moderate” and said his ability to remain drug-free in the community was the most significant factor.
About three years (1129 days) of Johnson’s sentence was reckoned as already served.
If he had not pleaded guilty, he would have been sentenced to 11 years, with a non-parole period of nine years.