OFF THE WIRE
Carl Dickens
geelongadvertiser.com.au
ONE of two brothers convicted over the killing of bikie Ross Brand has won the right to fight for a shorter jail term.
Derek Bedson, who instigated the 2008 Geelong Cup day shooting, was in March jailed for 12 years after pleading guilty to manslaughter, but he yesterday won leave to appeal against the severity of his sentence.
Brand, 51, was shot dead when Derek Bedson's brother John Bedson, founder of Rebels off-shoot group Death Before Dishonour, opened fire from a Hilux on a group of men standing outside the Bandidos' Breakwater clubhouse on October 22, 2008.
Supreme Court Justice Pamela Tate yesterday granted Derek Bedson permission to appeal on the grounds that both his sentence and non-parole period of eight years were excessive.
Lawyer Mary Baczynski, for Derek Bedson, argued her client's intent in Brand's killing had been "limited", and that it had not been proven that Bedson intended to harm anyone, maintaining rather that he intended to shoot into the clubrooms of the Bandidos Breakwater clubhouse.
Ms Baczynski also argued that her client's guilty plea, his youth he was aged 21 at the time of the shooting and his excellent prospects of rehabilitation should allow him a shorter prison stay.
She said Bedson had twice been named apprentice of the year while completing a carpentry apprenticeship while he was on bail.
Bedson will push for a shorter prison term at a later date to be determined.
John Bedson, 27, is meanwhile waiting to learn whether he will have the right to appeal to overturn his murder conviction and 23-year jail term.
The jury rejected John Bedson's not-guilty plea and found he fired at least six shots with the intention of killing a rival member as payback over a fight at Geelong racecourse earlier in the day