A Tasmanian teenager who pointed what looked like a rifle at two people during a property dispute has avoided jail after the weapon turned out to be a gel blaster.
Waylen Jones appeared before Justice Stephen Estcourt in the Supreme Court this month, pleading guilty to two counts of aggravated assault over the incident in January 2024.
The court heard that Jones, then 18, drove to a property in Hamilton looking for someone he believed had stolen from him.
When confronted outside by two people, the teenager grabbed what appeared to be a rifle from his car and pointed it at their feet.
“They both believed the gun to be real and to be loaded and to be capable of firing a round,” Justice Estcourt said.
What the frightened pair didn’t know was that Jones was holding a BB rifle-styled gel blaster, illegal in Tasmania, that shoots hydrated gel balls.
After police were called, Jones put the imitation firearm back in his car and fled the scene.
During sentencing, Justice Estcourt said that while the incident caused significant fear, it was “at the lower end of the scale of seriousness for such offending”.
“Any assault by an implied threat to use a firearm against a person is a serious crime,” Justice Estcourt said.
“Moreover, the defendant is still a young offender, he is not of otherwise bad character and he is gainfully employed.”
The court acknowledged the forestry worker had cooperated with authorities and personally apologised to one of the people involved.
With no history of violent offending, Jones was handed a 12-month community correction order with supervision and fined $500.
Tasmania Police regularly warn that gel blasters “are dangerous” and “are not toys”.
“In Tasmania there is a permanent amnesty in relation to firearms. This means that if you are unlawfully in possession of a gel blaster and surrender it to the police, no action will be taken against you in respect of that unauthorised possession,” Tasmania Police Firearms Services states.
