The person, whose identity and relation to Tram is suppressed, did not get along with Tram’s wife.
Tram told police he was going through dark times and thought taking the person “out of the equation” would solve the problem.
He approached the gang member at a party in August 2020 with the job offer, and also drove the prospective hitman to show him the victim’s house from the outside.
But Tram changed his mind after the gang member asked for more money, realising his “stupidity and foolishness”, he told police.
In sentencing, Justice Rebecca Edwards said the planning and premeditation here were aggravating factors, as well as the fact that Tram had followed the plan through and followed up.
But she said the court also had letters of support describing the 29-year-old as caring, hardworking, and gentle, and a mentor to young people from low socio-economic backgrounds in his community.
His offending was out of character and happened during a low period in his life when he could not see a way out of the conflict between people he cared about, the judge said.
Tram has apologised to the victim and the two have since repaired their relationship.
This is his first conviction and he faced a maximum sentence of ten years in jail.
Justice Edwards gave him a 55 per cent discount in total for his guilty plea, remorse, and previous good character resulting in the seven-month home detention sentence, during which he is to attend any counselling and rehabilitative treatments as ordered by Probation.
