A man found guilty by a jury of a shooting in St David’s was yesterday sentenced to 12 years behind bars, while a co-defendant who admitted his guilt was sentenced to ten.

Stacey Robinson and Shannon Dill were convicted of wounding Lionel Thomas Jr on April 30 last year with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, along with charges of using a firearm to commit an indictable offence.

While Robinson denied the charges throughout a Supreme Court trial, Dill pleaded guilty before the trial began, describing the incident as a robbery gone wrong.

During the trial, the court heard that Mr Thomas had spent the evening of the shooting at Somerset Cricket Club, arriving home at around 2am. He stepped out of his home when a female friend arrived, sitting in her car as she parked.

While parking, they noticed a car without licence plates parked in the area. She remained in the car while Mr Thomas returned to his home, spotting several helmeted figures on the outside steps which led to his bedroom door.

When he arrived at the stairs the figures had gone, but while walking around the house he saw a man in the darkness. He confronted the stranger and was shot twice, but survived the attack.

Dill was arrested later that morning at the scene when he attempted to get his car — the vehicle seen without licence plates — which was locked with the keys in the ignition. Robinson was arrested later in the investigation and was linked to the offence by witness testimony and phone records.

During a sentencing hearing yesterday, prosecutor Nicole Smith stressed the serious nature of the offence and that both of the defendants were fully responsible for their actions.

While she accepted that Dill had no previous offences and had admitted his role in the crime, she said Robinson had previously served time in prison for assault and still maintains his innocence despite his conviction. She also noted that the offence of using a firearm to commit an indictable act carries a minimum sentence of two years which, according to legislation, shall be consecutive to any related offence.

Given all of the circumstances, she called for a total sentence of 15 to 17 years in prison for Dill and 18 years behind bars for Robinson.

Defence lawyer Susan Mulligan, representing Dill, however called for a sentence in the range of seven years, saying her client had acted completely out of character and such a sentence would be a sufficient deterrent for other would-be offenders. She noted that the court reports had said he was at a low risk of reoffending, and that several people had written him letters extolling his previous good character.

“This is a young man who can be rehabilitated,” she said.

“Who can come out and be a father to his son. A man who has contributed to the community for the past 23 years of his life.”

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Christopher, representing Robinson, called for a sentence in the range of eight years, describing her client’s past conviction as a youthful mistake.

“Yes, he does have a record, but if you look at the record it occurred some five years ago,” she said. “A long ago point in his life.”

She said Robinson has overcome some challenges and was settling down when the offence occurred.

Both Ms Christopher and Ms Mulligan argued that the court was not required to make the sentences for the two offences consecutive given the totality principle.

Robinson himself declined to speak on his own sentencing, but Dill took the opportunity to apologise to the victim and his family, adding: “I would like to put this behind me.”

Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves said the intentional wounding of a citizen was a serious offence, and the use of a firearm was considered an aggravating circumstance deserving of a greater term of imprisonment.

Noting Mr Dill’s guilty plea, Mr Justice Greaves sentenced the defendant to three years imprisonment for wounding and seven years for using a firearm, ordering the sentenced to run consecutively to result in a total sentence of ten years.

Meanwhile the judge sentenced Robinson to four years in prison for wounding with a sentence of eight years for using a firearm, resulting in a total sentence of 12 years.

In both cases, he ruled that the time already spent in custody for the offences before the courts should be taken into account.

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