How a garden hose dispute between neighbours ended with a 30-year jail sentence
<p>An Aussie man has been sentenced to 30 years in jail after shooting two of his neighbours, in a months-long dispute that began over a disagreement over a garden hose. </p>
<p>Rodney John Lee, a 74-year-old from Melbourne's south-east, was sentenced to 30 years behind bars in court on Monday, after showing little remorse for pulling out a shotgun and murdering Saumoto Gasio and Tibor Laszlo, who lived in the same unit block. </p>
<p>The dispute between the neighbours began several months ago, with tensions escalating quickly in the lead up to the shooting, which occurred on January 13th 2022. </p>
<p>Lee had accused one neighbour's grandson of being a drug dealer, and was angry others would turn off a hose he used to water a communal garden.</p>
<p>On the day of the killings, Lee left the hose running and went inside his apartment, later screaming in anger when he realised that the water had been shut off.</p>
<p>According to court documents, Lee yelled to his neighbours, "You turn the hose off again you bastards, I'll f***ing kill you."</p>
<p>Later that night, Lee confronted residents in the garden when he got into an argument with Mr Gasio, who told him he would ignore demands about the hose because he was wasting water by leaving the hose running unattended.</p>
<p>Lee then went back to his apartment and armed himself with his grandfather's shotgun, before he headed back to the group and from close range fired at Mr Gasio, who was sitting on a bench.</p>
<p>Other residents of the building fled the scene looking for safety, while a badly injured Mr Gasio stumbled into a neighbour's unit. </p>
<p>As neighbours tried to help Mr Gasio, Lee came through the door and fired the shotgun again, this time hitting Mr Laszlo.</p>
<p>Both men died at the scene.</p>
<p>Before handing down the sentencing, Justice James Elliott described the killer's actions as "senseless and brutally violent".</p>
<p>"Nothing could justify the disproportionate, senseless and brutally violent way in which you responded," Justice Elliott said.</p>
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<p>"You murdered two people in their places of residence, where they were entitled to feel safe, in the presence of other residents of the unit complex."</p>
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<p>"Both victims were completely defenceless against you."</p>
<p>Lee is likely to die in jail, as h<span style="font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">e will be aged 97 by the time he is eligible for parole in early 2046.</span></p>
<p class="paragraph_paragraph__3Hrfa" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;">"You'll almost certainly be imprisoned for the remainder of your life," Justice Elliott said.</p>
<p class="paragraph_paragraph__3Hrfa" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;"><em>Image credits: ABC News</em></p>
