A 33-year-old boilermaker has pleaded guilty to possessing methylamphetamine and two "homemade" firearm silencers, incorrectly storing ammunition and doing an illegal burnout to test out a "nice sounding V8 engine".
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The burnout was captured on CCTV while the others charges stem from a search warrant on a Huntly home on November 2021.
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This search followed a lengthy investigation into high-risk driving and cloned number plates in the Epsom and Huntly area.
The Bendigo Magistrates' Court heard Gary Nieto, then 31, was living at the home with a second man when the police search uncovered a "commercial quantity" of cash, drugs and firearms.
Nieto and second man face serious charges for crimes
That second man faces other serious charges.
At the address, Nieto was found to have stored ammunition in his vehicle breaking the requirements of a firearm licence.
His lawyer Damon Pica said Nieto mistakenly believed his locked car would count as a "locked receptacle pursuant to the act".
Nieto's firearm licence has now been suspended.
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Two homemade silencers were also found at the home - one made from scratch with the second being an adapted solvent trap. The court heard damage to one of these items was consistent with it having been used.
Mr Pica said the silencing effect could also be achieved "John Wick style" by wrapping a tea towel around a gun.
But police prosecutor Senior Constable Matthew Hendry said it was "unreasonable" to compare a towel, paper or a pillow, all of which could be used to dim the sound of a shot, to the silencers constructed or adapted by a skilled boilermaker.
Police also found a small ziplock bag of methylamphetamine in Nieto's bedroom alongside drug paraphernalia.
'Not like he did it in the main street'
Nieto has also admitted to doing the burnout in front of the Huntly Livestock Exchange on October 2, 2021, after getting a new XR8 Ford Sedan.
Senior Constable Hendry said the vehicle's rear tyres "smoked excessively" and called it a "significant burnout".
The incident was captured on CCTV but Magistrate Russell Kelly acknowledged Nieto had "made sure no body was around".
"It's not like he did it in the main street," Magistrate Kelly said.
Nieto has no priors and is now living in St Kilda and working as a fly-in fly-out worker interstate.
He was placed on a good behaviour bond for 12 months and must pay $3000 to the court fund which will be distributed to "worthwhile causes" by the chief registrar.
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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.
