Michael Thomas Rae, 35, charged with murder over fatal shooting of Wesley Prentice at Cooks Hill

Wesley Prentice, a 40-year-old from Rutherford, was allegedly shot in the chest and left for dead inside a Darby Street housing commission unit about 12.45pm on July 22.

Police arrested 35-year-old Woodrising man Michael Thomas Rae near a caravan park in the Mid North Coast town of Bonny Hills late on Sunday afternoon, where they allegedly also found a loaded shortened shotgun and cash.

They were seized and will be forensically examined.

He was charged with murder, possessing a loaded firearm in a public place, possessing a shortened firearm (not pistol) without authority and possessing an unregistered firearm in a public place.

Mr Rae did not apply for bail and it was formally refused when he faced Port Macquarie Local Court on Wednesday.

He will face court again on September 29.

Detectives from Newcastle City Police District - with assistance from the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad - have established Strike Force Hibbard to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr Prentice's death.

Strike Force Hibbard detectives had executed search warrants at properties in Bonnie Hills and Windale in recent days and seized several items for forensic examination.

Police said their investigation into the shooting was ongoing.

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