Life terms for WA drug debt murder HAYDEN Shane Wayne Joseph didn't fire the shot that killed his former close friend but he'll spend more than a decade in jail over it. Joseph and Damien Phillip Mathews were both handed life sentences in the West Australian Supreme Court on Friday after a jury last month found them guilty of murdering 21-year-old Jeremia Iskander on December 2, 2011. The court heard during a four-week trial that the victim and Joseph had been friends for several years but fell out because Joseph owed him money for drugs. Their dispute escalated when Mr Iskander stole two of Joseph's cars to force him to pay up. This angered Joseph so much he and Mathews decided to stash a loaded gun in the latter's vehicle to threaten Mr Iskander with, if they happened upon him while collecting drug debts from other associates in Wanneroo. The pair, aged 23 at the time, saw Mr Iskander in the driveway of a home and confronted him. It was Mathews who decided to draw the gun and shoot Mr Iskander in the chest at close range. But there was a joint intention to threaten him, prosecutor Amanda Forrester said. And it was not a spur-of-the-moment decision to escalate the dispute, because Joseph and Mathews had been driving around with the firearm all day, she said. Justice Lindy Jenkins said it was hardly surprising that murder resulted from their dangerous plan. "If you had not declared war on him ... this would not have occurred," she said. Aggressive confrontations over debts were all too common among delinquent drug use subcultures, she added. Were it not for your methylamphetamine use, you would not be in this position. She sentenced Joseph to a minimum jail term of 12 and a half years before being eligible for parole. Mathews will serve 14 and a half years before consideration for release. Justice Jenkins said the offence had been aggravated by the men burning Mathews' car before going into hiding for nine days and concealing the gun, which has never been found. She noted they had been trying to stop using methylamphetamine in the weeks before the murder. However, she didn't believe they were truly remorseful because they continued to deny responsibility for it, with Mathews' lawyer Colin Lovitt arguing during the trial that it was Mr Iskander who had a gun and that a shot was fired accidentally. She did accept that they regretted causing Mr Iskander's death.