A man who drove his shotgun-wielding friend away from a crime scene at the Hughes shops and helped him dispose of the weapon has pleaded guilty in the ACT Supreme Court.
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Todd Elphick, 27, was sitting in his car near the Hughes shops on May 10, 2010, when Kai Yuen, 28, began running back towards him, holding a shotgun.
Elphick drove a short distance, and Yuen got in the back seat and said "I think I shot someone; I need to get rid of the gun", or words to that effect.
He drove away from the scene, and stopped briefly in Deakin, allowing Yuen to throw the shotgun, two spent shells, and four live shells, down a drain.
Yuen had just ambushed and murdered one of his oldest friends, Brendan Scott Welsh, 28, after a tit-for-tat argument between the pair, which started over a borrowed car and a set of car keys.
Yuen was convicted of murder earlier this year, and is serving 28 years jail.
Elphick had originally been charged with helping Yuen in a conspiracy to shoot Mr Welsh in the foot, but not to murder him.
However, a jury was unable to reach a verdict on that charge earlier this year.
Prosecutors have since reached a deal with Elphick, which sees him charged with the less serious offence of accessory after the fact, which, in this case, carries a maximum penalty of five years jail.
The new indictment alleges he helped Yuen evade apprehension or prosecution, knowing he had just discharged a weapon against another person in a way likely to endanger life.
Elphick pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday morning.
He has already served 225 days behind bars, and Crown prosecutor Shane Drumgold said he would not push for more jail time over the offence.
Elphick has a limited criminal history, the court heard, which has been clean for the past 10 years, save for two series of traffic offences.
He will be back in court for sentencing later this month.