A person who was house-sitting for a mate has discovered himself sleeping on the ground of a crowded jail cell as a substitute, after police raided the house and located hidden weapons and hashish seeds.
Gibson was residing on the handle when police raided the property on January 9 – and what they discovered booked Gibson a one-way ticket to jail earlier than he even noticed a decide.
In Townsville Magistrates Courtroom on March 19, Gibson appeared by way of videolink from jail and pleaded responsible to 10 offences – together with illegal possession of weapons and possessing harmful medicine.
The Mackay man, who receives a incapacity pension, suffers from a severe again damage and alternated between sitting on a plastic jail chair and standing as he listened to the courtroom proceedings.
Gibson appeared by way of videolink from jail and pleaded responsible to 10 offences – together with illegal possession of weapons and possessing harmful medicine.
“I don’t imply any disrespect by it, your honour, however I can solely sit down for a short while,” Gibson instructed Justice of the Peace Susan Warrington.
Gibson’s defence solicitor, Marcus Hahn of McKay Solicitors, stated his shopper was being housed in an overcrowded jail and was presently “cell sharing” with one other man and sleeping on a mattress, on the ground, close to the bathroom in his cell.
Police prosecutor Kimberley Rogers-Ford stated in the course of the raid officers situated a 12 gauge double-barrel shotgun in a shed, wrapped in horse feed luggage, lined in cling wrap and hid in a drum.
The realm of Millaroo, highlighted in purple, in relation to Townsville (yellow circle)
“Within the eating room of the house police additionally discovered a PVC pipe with screw on ends, contained in the pipe police discovered a flick-blade knife and a set of knuckle dusters,” Ms Rogers-Ford stated.
“Inside that very same PVC pipe police discovered a taser, this one had the flexibility to shoot probes in a trend just like police tasers, they discovered 4 cartridges inside the taser.”
Officers additionally discovered ammunition for the 12 gauge shotgun, handgun ammunition and a full .22 cal journal.
Gibson didn’t have a weapons licence, and all of the weapons have been unregistered.
Police prosecutor Kimberley Rogers-Ford stated in the course of the raid officers situated a 12 gauge double-barrel shotgun in a shed, hid in a drum.
The raid additionally unearthed a glass pipe, three glass vials containing steroids, a field of behind-the-counter tablets, glassware “generally used for meth lab setups” and three luggage within the fridge containing hashish seeds, the courtroom heard.
“Every bag was marked with the pressure every seed would develop,” Ms Rogers-Ford stated.
“Police additional situated a bundle of White Widow XXL hashish seeds which comes from Barneys Farm in Amsterdam. These may be bought over the web and shipped to Australia.”
Hashish seeds. These ones have been seized by police at a rural property close to Mount Garnet in a separate police operation.
One other pressure of hashish seeds discovered on the property was ‘42 Quick Buds’, which may be bought from the Czech Republic and mailed to Australia as nicely.
Ms Rogers-Ford stated these have been “prime quality” seed suppliers.
“He was setting himself up for one thing large,” she stated.
“He had himself nicely and really armed, and my submission is that was with the intention of defending what he had inside that home.”
Gibson additionally pleaded responsible to at least one depend of public nuisance, which occurred on the AusPost in Ayr on January 3, six days earlier than the police raid, the place he swore at workers and punched the perspex barrier as a result of he thought a parcel had been mishandled.
Mr Hahn stated there was no proof the glassware was truly being utilized in the way in which police alleged, and identified the weapons have been nicely hid and hidden from his shopper, however stated Gibson was prepared to plead responsible to possessing the gadgets as they have been on the property he was taking care of.
Justice of the Peace Susan Warrington sentenced Gibson to 4 months in jail, and ordered he be launched instantly, taking into consideration the 70 days he’d already served whereas ready to be heard by a decide.
Gibson will serve the final two months as a suspended sentence — which suggests he’ll solely should serve the time if he’s arrested once more within the subsequent 12 months.
Gibson thanked Ms Warrington for releasing him and promising her “you received’t see me once more”.
