news, local-news,

A WOMAN who stole her partner’s guns and used sites like Tinder to find buyers will spend only 35 days in jail for her offending, despite one of the buyers being imprisoned for three months. Cassandra Maree Clark had a pokies habit and was in need of cash when she concocted the firearm theft plan last October. The 47-year-old took five guns from her partner’s Baranduda home – where she had been living – and about 750 rounds of bullets. She used social media in a bid to find buyers with one of the weapons making its way to alleged Rebels bikie member Tony Andrew Marsden. A refrigerator, security camera system, camera, drill and other items were also taken and Clark later claimed the house had been broken into. She took some of the items to the Cash Savers store in Wodonga's High Street, where they were later recovered by police. One of the guns was sold to Marsden and recovered but four of the remaining weapons are still missing. Clark made a false police report that the house had been broken into and lied to her partner about the incident. The pair are taking “positive steps” to rebuild their relationship but are separated, with Clark now living with her mother in Sydney. She pleaded guilty to charges of firearm theft, theft and making a false police report and was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court on Thursday. The 47-year-old did not receive any additional jail time, having already spent 35 days in custody, but she must undertake a community corrections order for one year. Judge John Jordan said it was concerning that the weapons had not been recovered. “General deterrence, particularly with firearms, that in the community is an important consideration,” he said. “The community cannot (and) will not tolerate offending which so seriously compromises our citizen the right to feel their property is safe. “The message must be clear and consistent that appropriate punishment will result in appropriate circumstances. “Your sentence must manifest the community’s denunciation of your conduct and impose just punishment. “I must protect the community from any repetition of this type of offending and I must seek to deter not only you from further offending but others particularly on the question of firearms out in our society.” Judge Jordan said they were “without doubt serious offences”, but considered Clark's chances of rehabilitation to be "quite good". Marsden received three months’ jail last year in the lower Wodonga Magistrates Court and was ordered to complete 80 hours of community work.

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/u2TKvX7hYXGMrKgrD4ZiFN/1842b61f-642e-440b-9104-fd595fd4cbc7.jpg/r304_136_600_303_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg