An apprentice chef has been sentenced to an 18-month conditional release order after pleading guilty in Mudgee Local Court on August 2 to owning an unregistered firearm.
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Officers attached to Strike Force Grandi found a gel blaster in the shape of a glock located in a white Toyota Hilux at Ray Gooley Drive in Mudgee on March 17 last year.
Through a number of inquiries, it was discovered the item - which had been seized - belonged to Jake Cambourne.
The court heard that the 21-year-old was arrested and taken into custody after he presented at Mudgee Police Station on May 19.
Cambourne told police the gel blaster was a gift from a family member in 2017 that had been purchased online.
He also told police that he had been in the Toyota Hilux with the gel blaster.
During submissions in open court, police prosecutor Sergeant Andrew Pike emphasised the severity of owning a gel blaster after Cambourne's solicitor Allan Hogan described the offence as "potentially serious".
"It's not potentially serious, it is serious. It looks like a gun, it is a gun for all essential purposes. They are becoming more and more prevalent," Sergeant Pike said.
Magistrate Kasey Pearce explained "the difficulty with these particular items is that they're not like nerf guns ... they look like real weapons".
Cambourne was not convicted of the charge.
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