A man who fired a rifle through a windscreen was "lucky" his brother only lost three front teeth, a court has heard.
Mark Spencer, 38, pleaded guilty in a Brisbane court on Tuesday to grievous bodily harm over the February 2019 incident and to a string of other charges relating to a crime spree that followed.
The shot Spencer fired at the car from just two metres away and hit his then 40-year-old brother Cheyne Livett in the mouth, causing him to lose three teeth.
Mr Livett died about a year later for reasons unrelated to the shooting.
Spencer committed a spate of crimes until his arrest in Woodford, north of Brisbane, on March 13, 2019.
The siblings got into an argument about midday on February 2 while Spencer was staying at the Sunshine Coast hinterland house of his holidaying parents, the Supreme Court was told.
Spencer asked: "Are you going to make me shoot you?" when his brother stood in the driveway in an "intimidating manner" after an argument.
He then got a rifle from the house, firing a shot through the vehicle's windscreen while Mr Livett was in the driver's seat.
Spencer says he was trying to get his brother to leave, but did not aim the gun at him or intend to hurt him.
Spencer also admitted a spate of offending, starting two days after the shooting when he drove a vehicle in the wrong direction on the Bruce Highway.
He was affected by drugs at the time and caused a crash.
Police tried to stop Spencer on February 6 when he was driving a hire car that has not been recovered.
He was arrested the following month.
At the time Spencer was in possession of drugs, $6200 cash, two fake driver's licences, a stolen camper van and drug paraphernalia.
The court heard Spencer first used drugs as a teenager, but the use escalated after spending time in a youth detention centre.
Justice Elizabeth Wilson said Spencer was lucky his brother wasn't more seriously injured.
In handing down the sentence she took into account Spencer had called emergency services and tried to help his brother after the shooting.
Justice Wilson said the siblings' parents were "very supportive" of Spencer.
"What they have endured is just nothing less than tragic," she added.
Spencer was handed a head sentence of five-and-a-half years in jail.
She ordered Spencer be eligible for parole on the day of the sentence, due to having spent more than 22 months in custody.
Australian Associated Press
