A young Adelaide man who laughed as he shot at nine people with a gel-blaster in the city's north-east has been jailed for his "assault on public safety".
Brandon Agostino has been sentenced to a month in prison with the further eight months of his sentence suspended.
The 20-year-old drove through several suburbs in Adelaide's north-east in May 2020, firing a gel-blaster at people as they walked home from work or went for an early evening stroll.
Agostino changed his plea to guilty just prior to his trial starting in the Adelaide Magistrates Court, admitting to eight counts of aggravated assault with a weapon and aggravated assault causing harm.
During sentencing submissions, prosecutor Kathryn McDonald told the court nine people were peppered "with pellets for no reason" and that many victims told police they were shocked and confused by the incident with some no longer feeling safe in their neighbourhoods.
She said a 43-year-old man went to the Royal Adelaide Hospital after a pellet struck him in the eye.
Agostino's lawyer, Stephen Apps, told the court Agostino did not mean to cause any harm.
"It never occurred to him for a moment that he was committing a criminal offence," he told the court.
"So, when police came to his house that night he behaved really badly … he was extremely upset, his way of responding was to be abusive and rude.
"He's found it hard to come to grips with … something severely more than just having a few games with his mates."
Magistrate Stefan Metanomski asked Mr Apps if that was "a serious submission"?
"Yeah, it probably is a reflection on his intelligence and his perception is immature," Mr Apps replied.
Mr Apps told the court Agostino was now contrite and had written apology letters to his victim, asking the magistrate to suspend his sentence, which the prosecutor did not oppose.
But Magistrate Metanomski said Agostino's behaviour had a "profound impact" on his victims and he found it "hard to believe" Agostino did not know he was committing a crime.
"Further that the defendant somehow considered that this offending was trivial, of no consequence and basically a joke," he said.
"His behaviour amounts to an assault on public safety, it's incomprehensible, irresponsible and reckless.
"What is even more concerning is that he and his associate appear … to have gained some sort of pleasure from the perverse behaviour.
"It may be that he's contrite now, but he certainly wasn't contrite immediately after the offending which is reflected in his belligerent and aggressive behaviour towards the police."
He ordered a "very short" period of imprisonment be served.
Agostino will also have to pay more than $7,000 in victims of crime levies.
