Bikie Justin Talbot jailed over 2019 Bendigo home invasion and shooting

Justin Talbot, 32, appeared before County Court Judge Michael O'Connell for sentencing on two charges related to the home invasion and intentionally causing serious injury.

The offences carried maximum jail terms of 25 years and 20 years' respectively.

Talbot appeared via video link from Port Phillip Prison to learn his fate from an incident Judge O'Connell described as "callous and brutal" and one with life-changing consequences for the victim who was now wheelchair-bound as a result of being shot in the knee at close range with a single-barrel sawn-off shotgun.

Judge O'Connell accepted Talbot's difficult upbringing, which ultimately saw the accused leave school at the end of Year 7, as well as a serious motorcycle crash in 2015 where he sustained fractures to his neck, leg and arm, which had contributed to a deterioration of his mental state.

Talbot was a member of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang at the time of the incident following the AFL grand final day back in 2019.

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Talbot and two others had forced their way into a home and demanded to know the location of a man they believed had stolen a Suzuki motorcycle from a Bendigo address. The person they were looking for was not there.

Prosecution documents provided to the court state one of the occupants was a 45-year-old man from Footscray who had travelled from Melbourne the day before to spend time with friends.

His hosts had gone to bed and he had been sitting on the couch when two men burst through the rear door of the property then walked through the home to open the front door and let a third invader inside.

Talbot, brandishing a single-barrel sawn-off shotgun, spoke to the house guest and demanded to know where the alleged motorcycle thief was, while the others searched the home.

The court was told Talbot put the barrel of the weapon to the victim's forehead in a menacing manner. The victim said he didn't know and Talbot cracked him to the head with the butt of the gun.

The court was told after about five to 10 minutes Talbot walked up to the house guest who was still seated on the couch, put the shotgun to his right knee and pulled the trigger in an action Mr Cordy described as "an outrageous act with high moral culpability."

The three men then fled the property, while the property's owners called a taxi and then thought better of it and instead called an ambulance.

The house guest was taken to Bendigo Hospital and later transported to the Royal Melbourne Hospital where he underwent surgery to remove shotgun pellets and shotgun cartridge wadding from his knee.

Judge O'Connell also detailed Talbot's propensity for violence - which includes previous convictions for assault, recklessly cause injury, aggravated burglary and behave in a riotous manner, which a psychologist's report had attributed at least partially to untreated PTSD and ADHD that meant it was harder for Talbot to control his anger.

The report stated Talbot's fragile mental state, which left him prone to impulsive behaviour, was worsened by his abuse of alcohol and drugs.

Barrister Sam Tovey had earlier submitted his client actions were not pre-meditated and were instead spontaneous, a claim His Honour rejected.

Judge O'Connell said Talbot's psychological condition would be taken into account in sentencing, but they did not diminish his moral culpability.

He accepted Talbot's early guilty plea had helped facilitate the course of justice at a time when the courts faced a backlog brought about by the global pandemic, and accepted Talbot's time in custody had been more burdensome due to the conditions.

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Rejecting claims Talbot had shown remorse for his actions, Prosecutor David Cordy had cited transcripts from intercepted phone calls where Talbot had referred to shooting another man that could be seen as bragging.

Judge O'Connell said he was unable to form a view on the issue of Talbot's remorse, but that the use of a firearm remained a "very serious example" of intentionally causing injury.

He convicted and sentenced Talbot to a total effective term of imprisonment of eight years on the charges, with a minimum term of five years and six months, less 468 days already served in custody.

Had Talbot not pleaded guilty, he would have faced a term of nine years and six months' imprisonment, with a minimum of seven years.

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