10 hours ago
Jacob John Dwyer: Wooroloo shooting murder accused pleads guilty to lesser charge of manslaughter
A 37-year-old man has admitted shooting a young father in the head on Perth's outskirts, changing his plea on what was to be the first day of his murder trial.
Police were alerted to an incident on Needham Road in Wooroloo at 7.20am on November 4, 2023, and found James Peter Deering on the side of the road with a bullet wound to his head.
The 32-year-old was flown to Royal Perth Hospital, where he died the next day.
Jacob John Dwyer — who was on home detention bail and being tracked by a GPS monitor — was swiftly arrested after a brief manhunt, which sparked a local lockdown.
Dramatic vision showed armed police shouting at him to put his hands on his head as he knelt shirtless in the middle of the road.
7NEWS reported at the time that there had been an earlier confrontation at a Needham Road property when four men turned up, culminating with the occupant firing a gun.
All four men got back in their car and fled, and only after driving a short distance did they realise one had suffered a serious head wound, the broadcaster reported.
They pulled over and the driver began performing CPR, while two other passengers ran.
'Two men who were seen to run from the area into bushland had attended the scene with the victim, and fled the area on foot after the victim was shot,' police said after Dwyer's arrest.
He pleaded not guilty to murder in May 2024, when prosecutor James MacTaggart said there was 'a lot to absorb' in the case.
Dwyer was due to stand trial in the Supreme Court of WA on Monday but instead pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Represented by Mark Trowel KC, he waved to someone in the full public gallery as he was led away.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 23.
Shortly after the shooting, WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said it was a 'very confined' incident involving 'people known to each other, in circumstances that were known to police'.
Mr Deering was one of the State's rising cricket stars in his teens.
As he clung to life in hospital, a fundraiser was set up on behalf of his partner Hayley Graham, who was described as having already 'endured tragedies this year that many will never experience in their lifetime'.
'Hayley is the mother of two wonderful boys who now have to face the reality of growing up without their father,' campaign organiser Carla Bennett said.
