A man who shot someone in the thigh with a homemade gun did not intend to become involved in the neighbourhood dispute, his lawyers said.
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Michael Gordon Pallier, 27, pleaded guilty this year to recklessly causing grievous bodily harm after the bullet broke the victim's femur.
In mitigation at Tuesday's sentencing hearing defence barrister Ray Livingston said the shooting was not pre-meditated.
He told the court Pallier had been couch surfing and was in the process of taking his possessions, including the gun, to a new place when he intervened in a fight between the victim and a neighbour fighting outside a Holt unit on January 10, 2016.
"He has acknowledged that he was drug affected and that he made a very poor decision to get out of the vehicle with his homemade gun," Mr Livingston said.
The victim and the neighbour - a friend of Pallier's - had been involved in a dispute over the neighbour's girlfriend and it had escalated into a physical fight that night, the court heard.
Mr Livingston said Pallier was attempting to discourage the fight.
The man had problems with the drug ice and had battled depression and anxiety.
His lawyer urged the judge to impose as lenient as possible a sentence in the circumstances.
Prosecutor Mark Fernandez said it was concerning that not only did Pallier have such ready access to a gun, it appeared to be kept loaded. He urged the need for both general and specific deterrence.
Pallier had originally denied the shooting to police, boasted of his firearm prowess and said that if he had pulled the trigger, the man would be dead.
Justice Michael Elkaim on Tuesday sentenced Pallier to 27 months in prison for the shooting, which included a related charge of possessing a firearm. The man was also fined $500 for a further related charge of possessing ammunition.
"There is no suggestion that the offender shot [the victim] for the purpose of defending [the neighbour. The shooting was callous and unnecessary," the judge said, adding the community must be concerned with someone not only possessing a gun but also carrying it around.
The man had not taken responsibility for his actions and the guilty pleas were no indication of remorse, the judge said.
Pallier will be eligible for release in March 2018.
