newsletters, editors-pick-list, Riverina, Court, Wagga Local Court

A COURT decision has served as a reminder that owning a "toy" gun that resembles a real firearm can land you in trouble with the law. On Monday, a 29-year-old man from Coolamon was convicted of illegally owning and using a plastic toy gun that fires plastic pellets for fun. The man fronted Wagga Local Court for acquiring the airgun without a licence. The court had found the man guilty in his absence and he did not challenge the finding. Court documents state that on November 4, 2017 police found the airgun under the front-passenger seat of his partner's car. At the time, his partner was in the front-passenger seat while another female was driving. When questioned by police, his partner said she believed the gun was owned by her friend's son, who must have left it in the car after she took them home. His partner was initially charged with the offence, but after he and his partner had spoken about the matter, he went to police in May 2018 to clear the confusion and say it was his gun. On Monday, defence lawyer John Weir said it was an unusual offence, but argued for leniency based on his client not being aware that it was illegal and that the gun was marketed as a toy. "There's an argument that it's marketed as a toy and perhaps he'd escape prosecution entirely were it not for the fact that there's a trigger on it to propel small plastic pellets," Mr Weir said. "The force is the equivalent of flicking one's head. "If it were not for the fact that he went down to the police station, he wouldn't have been prosecuted." Mr Weir also argued that the airgun was similar to a spud gun that fires potato fragments. However, magistrate Christopher Halburd said a spud gun did not look like a pistol and that the man's airgun functions like a pistol with the only difference being pellets, not bullets. "You cannot have in the community toys that look like guns because if you point it at someone, they wouldn't know if it was real [or not]," he said. While Mr Halburd initially asked what kind of penalty should be imposed, he eventually said that the evidence shows that the man did believe he had a toy. He was convicted and sentenced to a 12-month conditional release order. On Monday, he was also convicted for breaching bail conditions and fined for driving while disqualified. While you're with us, did you know that you can now receive updates straight to you inbox each day at 6am from The Daily Advertiser? To make sure you're up to date with all the Wagga news sign up here.

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/rfNeT3cnKPBZequA9jm6NY/bd0e99ab-fee3-4751-a08e-77e5cadfe899.jpg/r0_45_3899_2248_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg