A South Australian District Court judge has told a court that violence is an unacceptable part of bikie gang wars before jailing a Comanchero for shooting up the home of a rival.
Judge Geraldine Davison handed 26-year-old Ethan Ericson a jail sentence of three years and seven months for firing four shots into an Ingle Farm home last June.
He will be eligible to apply for parole in September 2024.
Ericson, a fully patched Comanchero member, was driven to the home of a rival Hells Angel member and his family before firing the shots into the house as he stood at the bottom of the driveway.
The court heard the victim, his partner and young son arrived home shortly after the incident.
Lawyers for Ericson submitted the victim would have been less fearful than a civilian because violence was part of the culture in bikie gangs.
But Judge Davison refused to accept that submission.
"This offending was extremely serious, and I find it hard to accept that the damaging effects of a crime such as this can be diminished purely due to the victim's membership to an outlaw motorcycle gang," she said.
"The fact violence is commonplace within the outlaw motorcycle gangs and towards rivals is an unacceptable part of that society.
"It puts innocent members of the community at risk."
Swearing bikie claims remorse
Judge Davison described Ericson's actions as "premeditated" and "deliberate".
She said even if Ericson did not know that a child resided at the house, it should have been obvious to him from the play equipment on the front lawn.
Ahead of sentencing, Ericson apologised for his conduct, saying he was remorseful.
"The actions that I've caused are ones that are deeply regretful. There's no amount of apologising I can do," he said.
"I've decided to leave that life behind because it's not a life at all. The sentence I get today, I understand."
But shortly after being sentenced, Ericson stood and used foul language to express his disappointment at the penalty imposed.
