Batemans Bay man Jordan Elias Crooke, 23, avoided time behind bars over the incident when he was sentenced on Wednesday to a suspended three-month jail term.

He had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting co-offender Brodie Antoniak, 32, to fire a loaded rifle at a Narrabundah resident in November 2020.

Agreed facts show Antoniak, who employed Crooke as a tiler, was embroiled in a dispute with the victim about the ownership and whereabouts of a Ford utility.

On the day in question, Crooke drove his boss to the victim's home in a Holden Commodore and there was an argument about the missing vehicle.

The pair left but returned less than three hours later for what prosecutor Sam Bargwanna said was clearly never going to be a peaceful interaction.

What in fact ensued was what magistrate Glenn Theakston described on Wednesday as "very violent conduct", beginning with Antoniak getting out of the Commodore and kicking holes in an aluminum gate and the windscreen of a Ford Focus.

When the victim and his partner emerged from their house to see what was going on, Antoniak reached through the window of the Commodore and grabbed a .22 rifle.

The couple raced back inside in fear for their lives as the 32-year-old fired the gun, which had been stolen and modified, towards the victim and hit the front doorway area.

Antoniak then returned to the Commodore and Crooke, who had initially been unaware there was a gun in the vehicle, began to drive the shooter away.

Mr Theakston said it was at this point that Crooke also became culpable because, instead of removing the shooter from the scene, the 23-year-old performed a U-turn and headed back for the house.

This action enabled Antoniak to fire another two shots at the house, inside which there were also young children, in what Mr Bargwanna dubbed "round two".

Following the incident, in which no one was injured, Crooke drove Antoniak to Coppins Crossing and Uriarra to hide the gun and the Commodore.

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Antoniak was quickly arrested and remanded in custody, where he will remain until at least May after being sentenced to a backdated jail term of two years and two months, with an 18-month non-parole period.

Police did not catch up with Crooke until June last year, when he was extradited to the ACT from NSW and granted bail.

When Crooke appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday, Legal Aid lawyer Edward Chen successfully pushed for him to receive a suspended jail sentence.

Mr Chen told the court his client was "a young, impressionable, mentally ill man", whose schizophrenia had likely caused him to "submit to the stronger will" of Antoniak.

"It should be recognised that he was caught up in something bigger than he appreciated," the lawyer said, noting Crooke was initially unaware Antoniak was armed.

Mr Chen added that the offence was an "uncharacteristic aberration" for Crooke, who was attempting to address mental health and drug issues with the help of a supportive family.

While Mr Chen said Crooke had not assisted Antoniak much, Mr Bargwanna argued the 23-year-old's actions had "offered significant support to the gunman".

As he spared Crooke time behind bars, Mr Theakston found there was "a large difference" between the culpability of the two offenders.

"[Crooke] was very much at the mercy of [Antoniak]," the magistrate said.

To avoid his suspended sentence being activated, Crooke must abide by the terms of a 12-month good behaviour order.

The 23-year-old, described in court as a "particularly passive" person, angrily approached journalists as he left.

He then began following this reporter while shouting about how he would "f---en prefer" photos of him to be deleted.

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