Melbourne man avoids jail for hiding gun

A Melbourne man who hid a gun used to fatally shoot a young woman has avoided jail and a conviction.

Sam Nesci, 44, agreed to take possession of a sawn-off shotgun used to kill 24-year-old Kara Doyle at Avondale Heights last April.

Nesci, who had nothing to do with the shooting and who did not know the people involved, agreed to take the gun from a woman who witnessed the killing.

Victorian Supreme Court Justice Michael Croucher said Nesci's actions were unfathomable, and on Thursday handed him an 18-month good behaviour bond.

Ms Doyle lay wounded on the footpath as two men, her shooter Mehmet Torun and Baki Unlu, frantically sought help.

Nesci was buying cigarettes from a petrol station and began speaking to Kirsten Smith who was in a nearby house when Ms Doyle was shot.

Nesci invited Smith back to his Avondale Heights bakery for a drink and something to eat before she told him that she had the gun used to shoot Ms Doyle.

Handling the gun with a plastic bag to avoid leaving fingerprints, Nesci hid it in his home above the bakery.

Nesci, who pleaded guilty to possessing an unregistered firearm, told police that he only wanted to help Smith.

Justice Croucher said Nesci had taken the silly decision to involve himself and should have immediately contacted police instead of taking possession of the gun.

But he did not record a conviction, saying Nesci had excellent prospects of rehabilitation.

Torun, 25, of Avondale Heights, has pleaded guilty to Ms Doyle's manslaughter.

Smith, 22, of Fitzroy, and Unlu, 20, of Lalor, were given a 12-month good behaviour bond without conviction and a two-year community correction order respectively after both pleaded guilty to assisting an offender and perjury.