Michael Allan Jacobs, the man found guilty of murdering Senior Constable David Rixon, shot the officer in a “spontaneous reaction’’ and should not be sentenced to life in jail, his barrister says.
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Jacobs, 49, is the first person in NSW to face the prospect of a mandatory life sentence for the murder of a police officer.
But Tim Hoyle, SC, argued Jacobs should not get life because there was not enough evidence to prove he formed an intention to kill.
Jacobs was found guilty on July 15 after a month-long trial in the NSW Supreme Court. The jury found Jacobs shot the highway patrol officer when he tried to administer a breath-test in Lorraine St, Tamworth, on March 2 last year.
Under a law introduced in 2011, a mandatory life sentence would be imposed in a case where a person intended to kill an officer or was engaged in criminal activity that risked serious harm to officers.
At a sentencing hearing in Sydney yesterday, Mr Hoyle argued the court could not be satisfied of those elements.
Justice Richard Button asked whether Jacobs, who had methamphetamine in his system, had the foresight to know Senior Constable Rixon would die when he fired shots from a short distance away.
Mr Hoyle said: “Given the speed ... given his intoxication, it’s my submission that he never really turned his mind to this at all. It was a spontaneous reaction. It was something that just happened.’’
Justice Button questioned whether an intention to kill could be inferred from the fact Senior Constable Rixon was shot in the chest.
‘’The point I’m making is it’s not as if the deceased was shot in the foot and died of septicemia. In terms of determining an intention to kill, the objective fact is the fatal bullet entered his chest,’’ Justice Button said.
Mr Hoyle replied: “That’s true ... but we don’t know the mechanisms of it entering his chest by going through his wrist.’’
The judge also asked about the meaning of Jacobs saying ‘’die’’ after the shooting. The trial heard the officer’s microphone recorded Jacobs saying “Die... sorry, sorry, sir, sorry’’ immediately after shots rang out.
Mr Hoyle said: “We’ve got to look at this in context. When he utters those words he himself has been substantially wounded. What does he mean? Does he mean for the officer to die? And why does he immediately, in the same breath, say ‘I’m sorry’?‘’
In written submissions the prosecution argued, among other things, that Jacobs’ concealment of the .38 revolver used to shoot Senior Constable Rixon was suggestive of an intention to kill.
Senior Constable Rixon’s family was not present in court and decided not to give victim impact statements.
Jacobs will face a further hearing before his sentence is imposed.
