A MAN who violently assaulted his pregnant partner, leading police to discover drugs and a firearm, has been given an opportunity to turn his life around.
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Police attended an address after the man woke one September morning and started arguing with his partner, then five months pregnant, about cannabis.
The Bendigo Magistrates' Court heard the man grabbed hold of his partner and threw her to the ground after she refused to let him use her phone.
The man then kicked the woman in the back to stop her getting up off the ground.
The woman managed to get away from the man, fled the house and called police.
Police were alerted that the man had access to a firearm.
The man was seen carrying an item into the shed after police arrived, the court heard.
The police prosecutor said the man told police there was a gel blaster under the bed, but denied having any other weapons.
Police searched the address, finding a sawn-off shotgun in the shed, as well as the gel blaster under the bed.
They also found two cannabis plants and a zip-lock bag containing 17.2 grams of dried cannabis.
The man was arrested and charged with possession of an imitation firearm and a "general category of a handgun that is not registered."
He was also charged with drug and assault offences.
The court heard the man made admissions to the firearms offences when interviewed by police, but denied the assault allegations.
He pleaded guilty to the offences before the court.
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Defence lawyer Alex McLennan conceded the matters were serious.
He said the incidents occurred in the context of a deterioration of his client's health.
The man had served 69 days in custody, after which he was released on bail with support from the Court Integrated Services Program.
Mr McLennan said his client had performed well on the program and was in a "far better place" than he was at the time of the offending.
Magistrate Sharon McRae was pleased with the man's progress, but warned him he still had work to do.
"I think you are on the road to a better life. I also believe you could take the wrong road very quickly," Ms McRae said.
The man was convicted and sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order, in addition to the time served in custody.
"I'm giving you a very big opportunity, here, and I don't want you to muck it up," the magistrate said.
The court ordered that the weapons and drugs be forfeited.
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