A YOUNG man has admitted to concealing from police information about the shooting murder of Wesley Prentice at a unit block in Cooks Hill last year.
Aston Ryan Chambers, now 20, of New Lambton, was represented by solicitor Kathryn Cooper when he appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday charged with concealing a serious indictable offence.
Chambers had in August foreshadowed that he was going to plead not guilty and was expected to face a lengthy hearing in the local court. But on Wednesday Ms Cooper said the matter would not proceed to a hearing and Chambers would instead plead guilty. He will be sentenced in October.
Detectives allege Mr Prentice, a 40-year-old from Rutherford known as "Wes", who was couch surfing in the unit block, was shot once in the chest at close range and a man and woman were shortly after seen running to a nearby motor vehicle.
Michael Rae, 37, of Woodrising, was arrested in Bonny Hills, a coastal town about 20 kilometres south of Port Macquarie, ten days after Mr Prentice was gunned down inside the unit on Darby Street. The Newcastle Herald revealed last year that detectives allege they can link Mr Rae to the shooting through DNA and CCTV footage.
Detectives allege that Mr Rae and Mr Prentice both attended the unit in Darby Street on July 22 and were allegedly involved in an altercation about 12.45pm before Mr Prentice was shot. He died at the scene.
Police allege Mr Rae and a woman ran to a blue four-wheel drive and, after collecting a significant amount of CCTV footage, police say they were able to track that vehicle to a home at Windale.
Crime scene officers also allegedly located DNA inside and outside of the unit that police say links Mr Rae to the shooting.
After Mr Prentice was shot, police allege Mr Rae and the woman fled north and were staying at a caravan park in Bonny Hills.
Police say they spotted Mr Rae at the intersection of East Street and Beach Street in Bonny Hills about 5.45pm on August 1 last year.
He was carrying a bag that allegedly contained cash and a loaded shortened single-barrel 12-gauge shotgun.
A huge contingent of specialist police were on hand - including tactical police, police negotiators and the dog squad - and police moved in and arrested Mr Rae without incident.
He has not entered a plea to a charge of murder and will next appear in Newcastle Local Court on October 19.
Detectives have also charged Mr Rae's girlfriend, Jessica Wright, and Chambers' mother, Teegan Juanita Bain, with each being an accessory after the fact to Mr Prentice's murder.
