A former drug dealer has sobbed quietly after being cleared of murdering Lavington man Luke Hargrave.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A Supreme Court jury in Albury late on Thursday afternoon instead found Campbell Hart guilty of Mr Hargrave’s manslaughter.
The not guilty verdict was reached just 30 minutes after the jury of seven women and five men retired about 3pm.
Family members of Mr Hargrave were clearly shocked at the jury’s decision, crying and hugging each other outside the court room.
They were immediately comforted by the head of the investigation, Detective Sen-Constable Nathan Hogg, and Crown prosecutor Wayne Creasey SC.
Hart, 30, will be sentenced on a date to be fixed, with a directions hearing to go before presiding judge Justice Stephen Campbell in Sydney on August 22.
The trial that began on July 4 heard Mr Hargrave’s death almost three years ago occurred in a climate of acrimony between the pair, who were both methamphetamine dealers.
Hart was angry with his friend over a $6000 drug debt, plus the failure of Mr Hargrave to hand over registration papers for his black utility despite being paid several thousand dollars.
Witnesses said Hart was alone with Mr Hargrave in the cinema room of the victim’s Vickers Road home late on the night of October 29, 2013, when the shooting happened.
The pair had earlier enjoyed dinner together before returning to the room to smoke “ice”.
Hart locked the door shortly before shooting Mr Hargrave, then ran out of the house shouting “Luke just shot at me”. Phone records proved Mr Hargrave was on the phone to a friend, with his other hand in his pocket, when he was shot.
The defence argued Hart had a substance-induced psychotic disorder, having experienced hallucinations for months.
But another psychiatrist said Hart’s normal behaviour before the shooting – and no psychotic symptoms during a police interview – meant he instead had a stimulant use disorder, which was not a defence to murder.
