Mark Stanley jailed over murder during 'shambolic' failed robbery in Wellington

A man has been sentenced to 12 years' jail for his involvement in a fatal shooting during a botched robbery in Central West NSW more than four years ago.

Mark Charles Stanley, 22, pleaded guilty to murdering 58-year-old Paul Jacques, who was shot through a closed door at his Wellington home in August 2021.

During sentencing in the Orange Supreme Court on Tuesday, Justice Dina Yehia described the incident as "unsophisticated and shambolic".

Justice Yehia said while Stanley did not shoot Mr Jacques, he was still criminally responsible for murder because he knew his accomplice was armed and had gone to his house as part of a planned robbery.

Stanley was handed a 12-year prison sentence, with a non-parole period of eight years due to a finding of special circumstances. 

With time already served, he will be eligible for release in May 2031.

Robbery gone wrong

The court heard Stanley and two friends, Titan Gilkes and Bradon Madden, planned to rob Mr Jacques's house on Gisborne Street in the early hours of August 2, 2021.

The home was known as a place where drugs were sold.

The trio's plan went south when Gilkes, armed with a loaded single-barrel shotgun, fired through the closed front door of the home.

Mr Jacques, who was standing behind it, was struck in the leg by pellets — something Gilkes nor Stanley were aware of at the time, the court heard. 

Mr Jacques was treated at the scene but died before arriving at Orange Base Hospital.

Stanley and Gilkes were arrested at a correctional centre in 2023 following a two-year investigation under Strike Force Clavert.

Gilkes pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced in February to 14 years and three months in jail, with a non-parole period of nine years and six months.

The court heard the third man, Mr Madden, is now deceased and was not charged over the incident prior to his death.

'Pull it bra … shoot it and run'

Stanley faced a sentencing hearing earlier this month, after changing his plea to guilty in May, shortly before his trial was set to start. 

During the hearing, CCTV footage of the incident was played to the court, where two male voices could be heard shouting "pull it bra", "shoot it and run", "shoot, shoot, shoot".

While the prosecution argued Stanley encouraged Gilkes to pull the trigger, Justice Yehia said she was not satisfied he said those words or intended to kill or cause serious harm.

Justice Yehia said Stanley knew Gilkes was armed and had intended to rob the house, but she believed his role in the murder was "significantly lower".

"Unlike Gilkes, he was not armed, he did not discharge a firearm, did not source it, or devise the plan to rob the deceased," she said.

'Never intended to hurt anyone'

Defence barrister Nicholas Broadbent SC said Stanley, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, had a very unstable upbringing with "significant exposure" to criminality and substance abuse.

The court heard Stanley had been in and out of juvenile detention and his mother had spent time in prison when he was 11. 

Mr Broadbent said drug addiction drove Stanley to commit attempted robbery that day, and in a letter to the court, he expressed remorse for his actions.

"I feel so bad about what happened, I never intended for anybody to get hurt," the letter read.

Justice Yehia said Stanley had shown "genuine remorse".

She found his mental health, intellectual difficulties, and childhood deprivation had all limited his ability to mature, reducing his moral culpability.