September 19th 2024.
A man has been charged in connection to a home invasion that resulted in a tragic death over a dispute involving a $250 drug debt. The man, Dean John Bell, 33, was given a sentence of seven years and six months in the Victorian Supreme Court today for his role in the death of Griffin Harris on September 21, 2022. However, there is a possibility that he could be released from custody in just over two years, as he has already served close to two years of his four and a half year non-parole period.
Bell was one of four co-accused in the case, along with Lachlan Kyle Belmore, Troy Allen Smith, and Peter Batsanes. The group arrived at Harris' home in Melbourne at 4:10am, wearing masks and carrying a rifle. The situation had escalated due to ongoing tension between Belmore and Harris over the unpaid drug debt. Smith and Batsanes caused a commotion at the front door before retreating to their car, which woke Harris and his girlfriend inside the house. Bell and Belmore, with the rifle allegedly in Belmore's possession, jumped the fence to enter the backyard, but Bell did not go inside the house.
Harris' girlfriend, who went to investigate the disturbance, came face-to-face with a masked man pointing a rifle at her head. She ran to the neighboring house for help and heard someone yell, "get the f*** down," before Harris called out for assistance. Harris was then brutally beaten and ultimately shot in the chest, causing his death. The prosecution was unable to determine who fired the shot, and the rifle was never found.
During her sentencing, Justice Rita Incerti acknowledged that Bell was not the primary offender and that his involvement was not as severe as Belmore's. She also noted that Bell had pleaded guilty early on to the charge of homicide by firearm, after initially being charged with murder. Justice Incerti also took into consideration Bell's potential for rehabilitation.
Belmore, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, received a sentence of nine years in May, with a non-parole period of five years and six months. Batsanes and Smith both pleaded guilty to home invasion and received their sentences in 2023.
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