A teenager who tried to shoot two men at a bar and restaurant could face extra jail time if the sentencing judge is swayed by allegations that the 19-year-old’s attempted shooting was associated with a criminal gang.

Josiah King, from Warwick, faces 12 years behind bars for possessing a prohibited Generation 5 Glock 19 handgun, possessing 16 rounds of ammunition, and carrying a firearm in a public place.

He faces an extra year to his sentence under the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2012, which allows for the addition of up to five years’ imprisonment for convictions where crimes are proved to be committed as part of unlawful gang activity.

Cindy Clarke, the Director of Public Prosecutions, told the Supreme Court yesterday that King, who was aged 18 when he rode on a motorcycle to the Divots Restaurant, Bar and Grill by the Belmont Hills Golf Course in Warwick, at 1pm on May 10, 2022.

He left the motorcycle running, ignoring an outdoor diner who pointed to the bike, and entered the restaurant wearing a black helmet and black mask.

Someone shouted “He’s got a gun” as King walked into the dining room, drew the weapon and pointed it at two men sitting at the bar.

Ms Clarke said his intended targets bolted from their seats and ran into a staff area at the back. The two were pursued by King, who was unable to find them.

As the gunman came back into the dining room, an off-duty policeman who had been among patrons struck him in the face and chest with a chair, knocking King to the floor.

The officer got King’s weapon off him, but he managed to break free during the struggle and escaped across the golf course, leaving his helmet and vehicle behind.

The motorcycle had been stolen from a Devonshire home that March.

Ms Clarke added that the assailant’s blood was left on the officer’s shirt. Three days later, King was invited to turn himself in at Hamilton Police Station.

He arrived with his mother, bearing injuries consistent with getting struck with a heavy object, including cuts to his face, a swollen jaw and a missing tooth.

Police seized a pair of jeans, a balaclava and a trash bag containing bloodied napkins from King’s residence.

Ms Clarke said a sentence of 12 years had been agreed with King’s lawyer, Marc Daniels.

However, the two sparred over whether King’s crimes could be associated with an unlawful gang.

Ms Clarke said King was held at Westgate prison until he was charged on May 24.

A search of his cell after he was brought back to police custody uncovered two sheets of paper with lyrics either written by the defendant or by someone who had been in contact with him.

The DPP said a police investigator maintained that the writings showed an affiliation with a criminal gang call the Cedar Hill or Ord Road Crew, and that one of the intended targets chased in Divots had been part of a rival Jones Village gang.

Mr Daniels countered that no evidence-based intelligence could prove a gang link.

“The basis for forming this opinion is extremely tenuous — handwritten notes found in his possession,” he told Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe.

“It is purely based on words that are not in any way attributable to Mr King other than being in his possession.”

Ms Clarke pointed out that a defendant did not need to be proven to be a gang member, but merely associated with an unlawful gang, under the 2012 additions to the criminal code.

The legislation came during a time of heightened gang violence, and made gang links an aggravating factor in a crime.

It set a definition of an unlawful gang and included names, signs, symbols, frequent associations and activities as links to gang activity.

Mr Daniels said there was “absolutely no evidence that Mr King is associated with persons linked to an unlawful gang”, adding: “Correspondence that appears to come from a gang member cannot be seen as a frequent association.”

King apologised to the court and to his parents, who were present in the gallery.

He said he hoped to learn Arabic during his incarceration.

Mr Justice Wolffe asked him: “What would possess you as a young man who in the short time you have just spoken seems intelligent and articulate — yet you find yourself in a situation where you are brandishing a firearm and chasing after somebody?”

King said: “Sometimes you make a lot of silly decisions. You don’t think it fully through and don’t think what the consequences might be.”

Mr Justice Wolffe said: “It always confounds me that our young men find themselves in these positions.

“We are losing so many young men who could have been major players in the political, corporate or business realm. Now I have to face having to send you to prison.”

He added: “I hope I am not feeling worse about this than you are.”

Sentencing was set for later this month.