A 30-year-old man has had his sentence deferred until November after pleading guilty to firearm possession and thefts, including stealing 25 gold nuggets and rare coins.
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Samuel Else, appearing before the County Court sitting in Bendigo, pleaded guilty to two charges of theft, a charge of firearm theft and three charges of possessing a drug of dependence.
Prosecutor Mr David Cordy told the court that Else, between February 3 and March 6, 2022, stole ammunition, 25 gold nuggets, 100 gram bar of solid silver, one small clear vile containing gold, several gold bracelets, six solid silver chains, a silver tin containing rare coins, about $3500 in notes and coins, and knives from an address in Sailors Gully.
Mr Cordy told the court between February 3 and March 6, 2022, Else stole gold from a property at the same address in Sailors Gully.
He then, between March 4 and March 6, stole four firearms from the same address.
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Else also pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis, 1,4 butanediol and methylamphetamine on March 17 2022, when a search warrant was carried out at a Bendigo hotel room where he was found and arrested.
Modified registration plates and photocopies of registration plates were also found in the room. A blue Mazda sedan with no plates was located parked outside the room, and keys to it were located in the room.
Records were provided to the court by Badabing Pawn Shop at Golden Square showing that Else sold men's silver jewellery and a 100 gram silver bullion for $140.
Stolen firearms recovered
On March 5, the court heard Else sold a Schrade "Uncle Henry" knife and pouch, and a Buck "Harley Davidson" knife and pouch for an undisclosed amount.
On April 12 the four stolen firearms were recovered at an address in Safety Beach.
The court was told Else did not disclose the identity of those to whom he gave the firearms out of fear for his safety.
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Judge Stewart Bayles said that Else "feared for his life, spells out the seriousness of the crime".
Judge Bayles said it was "inevitable" that firearms would be passed on to people in the criminal world, while acknowledging the risk had been curtailed by the discovery in this matter.
The court heard Else initially denied being responsible for the burglary and theft of firearms from Sailors Gully, before admitting to having located and accessed a safe at the property after "being nosey".
Gold items smelted, unable to be retrieved
The court heard a number of gold items had been sold for $26,000, though they had "potentially been worth double" that amount, and Else had lost that to gambling and drugs.
As those items were were sold to wholesale buyers and smelted they could not be recovered.
Else received 46 days of presentence detention between March 17 and May 2, 2022, before being released on bail.
Else's defence lawyer Karin Temperley told the court her client had "hit a turning point" and had "made a deliberate and conscious choice to engage with services" to rehabilitate himself following years of drug addiction.
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Lucy Williams
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
