A Beechworth local made multiple threats to a man who would shoot and kill him in the hours and minutes leading up to a shootout on Buckland Gap Road. Coroner Leveasque Peterson is investigating the death of Paul Flegel, 60, who was shot dead on 28 October, 2022 in Beechworth. A summary inquest in the Coroners Court of Victoria on Tuesday heard he suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh which ruptured his femoral artery. The shooter, a 64-year-old Beechworth man, was also shot in the chest after receiving messages from Flegel saying he would “destroy” him in the hours leading up to the incident. It's been considered a case of self-defence and the 64-year-old was never charged with Flegel's death. The court heard a brief backstory of Flegel’s life, having grown up in the Wangaratta and Beechworth areas. At the time, Flegel was diagnosed with stage four cancer and he had been drinking Jack Daniel’s from 5pm on the day of his death. He became heavily intoxicated and started arguing with his partner. Flegel then started sending threatening voice messages to the 64-year-old about 6:30pm. “We’re coming, we’re going to f***ing destroy you,” he said. While they weren’t close friends, the court heard the pair knew each other and there was no bad blood between them. Flegel said the 64-year-old had an alleged debt with him, and during a voice message left on a miscall to someone else, he was overheard speaking about taking the man’s $30,000 Harley Davidson. Two friends arrived at his home and noticed he was intoxicated, hitting his partner with a cane which saw her leave the house. Further threatening voice messages were sent to the 64-year-old between 7-8pm. Flegel and a friend went to the local IGA about 8pm, where a supermarket worker overheard Flegel saying he “had enough” of the 64-year-old and “I’m going to shoot him”. They arrived at the Buckland Gap Road address at 8:15pm, as Flegel’s friend knocked on the door while the 60-year-old stayed in the car. He told the property owner he had no weapons on him and he was just there to chat, which seemed put him at ease. Flegel then exited the car with a handgun and fired a shot at the 64-year-old, which hit him in the chest. His friend felt the bullet fly past him and he ran as both Flegel and the 64-year-old engaged in a shootout. Flegel emptied his cartridge, firing five rounds at the man while he fired three shots. One of his shots would hit Flegel in the thigh, proving to be the fatal wound as he passed out and died trying to re-enter the car. The property owner called emergency services as he took cover behind a vehicle, and he was airlifted to hospital after a major police response. Officers found Flegel dead at the scene, returning a blood alcohol reading of 0.17. Several weapons were seized from the residence and the 64-year-old would later be charged with gun and drug possession, but nothing in relation to Flegel's death. Lead investigator Acting Sergeant Brendan Stack said while leads were not currently being pursued, the investigation could be reopened if new evidence came to light. Coroner Peterson said she would consider the matter before releasing her findings “in due course”. The 64-year-old was remanded in custody following his most recent arrest on 10 November this year and will return to Wodonga Magistrates’ Court on 9 December. He was charged with almost a dozen offences related to possessing a traffickable amount of unregistered firearms, being a prohibited person to own firearms and cultivating cannabis.
