A man has been sentenced to a 12-month Community Corrections Order for owning a BB gun without a licence, keeping it under his bed, and swearing in public after police found the weapon while carrying out a search warrant.
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Brett Parkins of Mudgee Street, Rylstone, pleaded guilty to charges of 'Not keep firearm safely', 'Possess unauthorised firearm', and 'Use offensive language in/near public place/school', in Mudgee Local Court last Wednesday.
At about 12.20pm on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, police executed a search warrant on the Inglis Street, Mudgee, residence where the 21-year-old was living at the time.
During which they found a BB gun in a case under a bed. They noted that it hadn't been locked up or secured in any way, and could've been easily accessed by any of the children present in the house.
Parkins arrived as the search was being carried out. He was issued with a move-on order, due to his behaviour.
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He yelled and swore as he walked away down the street and began knocking over neighbours' garbage bins. The noise led to a number of people emerging from their houses to witness the commotion.
Later that afternoon Parkins went to Mudgee Police Station, where he admitted to owning the gun, with a check revealing that he doesn't hold a firearms licence.
His legal-aid solicitor, Toshi Weller-Wong, submitted that a mitigating circumstance was that the firearm was only a BB gun.
Magistrate David Day said, "it'd take your eye out, but it wouldn't kill you". However, added that the 'Not keep firearm safely' charge was aggravated because children also resided at the premises.
With regards to the offensive language charge, his honour said the "'F' and 'C' bombs caused some of the residents of Inglis Street to exit their homes" and suggested they "mustn't have heard those words before".
