Not one but two local men were sentenced in Mudgee Local Court for possessing slingshots, the separate offences serving as reminders that they are indeed prohibited weapons under NSW legislation.
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Todd James Davis, aged 36, of Winbourne Street, Mudgee, received a criminal conviction with no other penalty after he was charged on Friday, August 10, 2018.
At about 8.30pm that evening, police patrolling the Ulan Road outside Mudgee became suspicious of Davis sitting in his vehicle parked near the entrance to the racecourse.
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A search located a slingshot, along with marbles and ball bearings.
Davis, who represented himself in court on Wednesday, December 5, 2018, claimed that he bought the slingshot from a store in Dubbo. To which police prosecutor Kris O’Brien replied, “that’s something for the Dubbo police to look into”.
In an unrelated matter, 44-year-old Scott Michael Martin also received a criminal conviction with no other penalty for the same charge.
At 3pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2018, police executed a search warrant on a storage unit being leased by Martin after they received information that it contained stolen property. They seized the weapon which he said was used for fishing.
Magistrate David Day told the defendant, who also represented himself in court, “it’s not Queensland where they’re perfectly legal”.
And added, “this is the latest in Mr Martin’s list of petty offences”.
Slingshots fall under ‘miscellaneous weapons’ of the NSW Weapons Prohibition Act 1998. And are defined by the legislation as, “being a device consisting of an elasticised band secured to the forks of a ‘Y’ shaped frame, other than a home-made slingshot for use by a child in the course of play”.
Martin was also fined $220 for a charge of drug possession.
At about 3.07pm on Saturday, November 17, 2018, police were at an address in Menchin Street, Mudgee, for an unrelated matter when they spotted him leaving the location while trying to conceal something in his hand. It was revealed to be a resealable bag containing 7g of cannabis.
Officers noted in the facts submitted to the court that Martin was sick of the police taking his drugs and asked for half of the bundle back.
In noting the defendant’s prior drug possession changes, Magistrate Day asked, “do you need assistance with your use of cannabis? And that doesn’t mean hiding it.”
