OUT on parole and dealing drugs, violent criminal Michael Rae told the woman who lived in the Darby Street unit not to worry, there wasn't going to be any "dramas".
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"I just want to talk to him," Rae said of Wesley Prentice, who had just walked into the unit and, unwittingly, walked straight into the path of a man who he owed a debt.
Moments later the pair were engaged in a heated argument and struggle that spilled into the loungeroom and became a fatal shooting when Rae pulled a pistol out of his waistband.
The details of what led up to the shooting of Mr Prentice, a 40-year-old from Rutherford known as "Wes" who was couch surfing in the unit block, can be revealed after Rae on Tuesday faced a sentence hearing for manslaughter in Newcastle Supreme Court.
Mr Prentice's sister, Alesha Prentice, wept as she outlined the impact of his sudden and tragic death, saying her brother had a big heart, loved being a dad and was the life of the party.
Incredibly, she said it was important for her to "forgive" Rae so she could move on and get closure.
Rae was on parole for stealing 39 firearms from a Newcastle storage facility and was supplying drugs when he went to the unit of an associate in Darby Street on July 22, 2021.
It was after midday when Mr Prentice arrived at the unit to buy cannabis for another man.
Rae had earlier mentioned Mr Prentice to others in the unit and told them "the c--- owes me money".
So when Mr Prentice arrived, the woman who lived at the unit told Rae "Wes is here" and "I don't want any dramas."
Rae reassured her, but promptly walked down the hall and confronted Mr Prentice about the debt.
"What are you doing c---?" Rae said. "I haven't seen you in a while. "Where's my money? "Have you got my money? "Come talk out here."
Mr Prentice explained that he, like Rae, had only recently been released from jail and had unable to raise the funds to cover the debt.
"So what if you've been in jail," Rae said, according to one witness. "You could have still contacted me."
Rae then produced a pistol out of his waistband and the heated argument became physical.
"I should shoot you right f---ing now, c---," Rae said, according to a witness.
While Mr Prentice replied: "What are you going to do, shoot me?" and "If you're going to shoot me, go on and do it."
Witnesses described hearing punches and the pair "struggling" and grappling" and one person said they saw Mr Prentice had Rae in a "bear hug".
It was when someone in the unit pulled the pair apart that the pistol discharged and Mr Prentice was shot in the chest at close range, according to an agreed statement of facts.
Defence barrister Paul Rosser, KC, said on Tuesday that Justice Natalie Adams could not be satisfied that the firearm was "deliberately discharged".
Rae pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis that it was an unlawful and dangerous act to be armed with the loaded firearm, pull it out during the argument with Mr Prentice and to have his finger on the trigger during the struggle.
Rae fled the unit and was arrested at Bonny Hills, about 20 kilometres south of Port Macquarie, ten days after Mr Prentice was gunned down after a large contingent of heavily-armed police descended on the small coastal town.
He was carrying a bag that contained cash and a loaded shortened single-barrel 12-gauge shotgun. The weapon used to kill Mr Prentice has never been found.
He was eligible for parole in 2015, pulled off the gun theft at Kennards in late 2016 and was taken back behind bars.
He was released in January, 2021 and had only been on parole for six months when he shot Mr Prentice and went on the run.
Rae will be sentenced on Thursday.
