Realistic gel blaster replicas of military-style weapons have landed a north-west Tasmanian man in court, after police discovered his collection in an unlocked storage unit.
Ethan Graeme Johnson, 44, was sentenced to four weeks’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for 12 months and fined $3,000 after pleading guilty to possessing prohibited firearms without a licence.
The Supreme Court of Tasmania heard police uncovered nine gel blaster guns while searching Johnson’s storage unit for an unrelated matter.
Three of the replicas – modelled on a .50-calibre sniper rifle, an M16 and a Vector V2 – were deemed prohibited because they closely resembled assault rifles with select-fire capability.
“They have the appearance of firearms and could easily be mistaken for real firearms,” Justice Tamara Jago said.
Johnson told police he thought the weapons were “toys you could mess around with”.
He had purchased them legally online from Queensland, where such items are not prohibited and used them for target shooting on rural property near Perth in the Northern Midlands.
When he relocated to the north-west coast, Johnson stored the weapons in the unit and “did not give them much further thought”, the court heard.
Justice Jago rejected Johnson’s claim of ignorance about Tasmania’s firearms laws, noting police had been “quite active in communicating to the community the illegality of firearms of this nature”.
“Whilst these firearms were replicas, they could readily be mistaken for real firearms, particularly if used in circumstances where the lighting was poor, emotions were heightened or there was panic,” she said.
The court heard Johnson had no prior firearms convictions but had previous alcohol-related offences.
Although there was no evidence he intended to use the replicas for criminal purposes, Justice Jago said the case called for deterrence.
“Given the number of firearms involved, their close resemblance to the real thing and the haphazard manner in which they were stored, coupled with the need to place a strong emphasis on general deterrence, I am satisfied that a period of imprisonment is required,” she said.
“However, in the circumstances it is appropriate that that period of imprisonment be wholly suspended.”
