Albury gunman Joseph Dawson guilty of shooting friend with shotgun

Luke Coughlan suffered permanent disfigurement after having his jaw, teeth and flesh blasted off by Joseph Dawson at Dawson's Albury unit on May 2 last year.

He was placed on life support and underwent five surgeries following the incident at the Holmwood Cross home, which included a leg bone being used to reconstruct his jaw.

Dawson had placed the loaded and cocked Boito .410 shotgun near Mr Coughlan's mouth following a drinking and drug session.

A group had been out at Beer Deluxe and Zed Bar and had returned to Dawson's unit, with Dawson showing off the black barrelled gun and waving it around.

One of the men inside the unit, James Williams, reported Mr Coughlan as saying "you'll never use it", to which Dawson replied "do you think I won't use it?".

The shotgun discharged about 4.40am, with police later finding blood, flesh, bone, teeth and lead pellets at the scene.

Dawson had run from the home and dumped the shotgun near Albury TAFE before being driven away by his partner, Maddie Styles.

Dawson urged the group to tell police there had been a home invasion and someone had shot Mr Coughlan in the face.

"I know for a fact that Luke's not gonna say it's me," he told police.

"So that's that."

There hadn't been any animosity between the shooter and victim before the incident.

Dawson wrote to Coughlan on Snapchat after the incident, "bra im so sorry i never meant fot that (sic)".

Coughlan had no memory of the shooting, and remembered waking up at Albury hospital, then being pushed to a helicopter, and then waking up with his sister, mother and father in a Melbourne hospital.

Dawson was arrested at Ms Style's home in Thurgoona about 2.45pm on the day of the shooting and has been in custody since.

Judge Sean Grant this week found the 25-year-old guilty of recklessly causing actual bodily harm to Mr Coughlan.

His legal team had contested the "reckless" aspect of the charge at trial, and whether Dawson had thought about the consequences of his actions.

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It was argued Dawson may have held the gun with his finger on the trigger and moved the gun from side to side, accidentally discharging it.

He will be sentenced on the charge, and for possessing the gun, on December 8.

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