THE woman who accompanied her partner while he repeatedly fired a double-barrelled sawn-off shotgun at police at Poatina, must pay no more than a fine.
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Tereza Anne Loone, 28, changed several of her pleas to guilty yesterday in the Launceston Magistrates Court, after having been expected to contest the matters.
After Cameron James Brasher fired the first two of four shots at police, shattering the window of their rented Ford Falcon on February 25, officers had mobile phone contact with Loone who said words to the effect of, ‘‘Back off or we will shoot’’.
The Falcon was less than 10 metres away from an occupied police car when Brasher lent over Loone, sitting in the front passenger seat, and fired the first two shots in quick succession.
Loone pleaded guilty to three firearm possession charges, two counts of stealing and one count of having contravened the conditions of a bail notice.
Police found Loone’s DNA on the 44-centimetre long sawn-off shotgun, which had its stock removed and smashed into a pistol grip.
Magistrate Simon Brown emphasised that he was only sentencing Loone for the crimes she had been charged with.
He convicted Loone and fined her $900.
Brasher has been in custody since the shooting and is awaiting sentencing in the Launceston Supreme Court for offences including three counts of aggravated assault upon three policemen.
Defence solicitor Emily Judd, in her plea in mitigation, said yesterday that Loone could remember little of the incident, during her ‘‘two to three month meth binge’’ with Brasher, but Loone did recall that she discouraged Brasher from committing suicide.
‘‘When Mr Brasher was sitting beside the shallow grave that he had dug for himself ... Ms Loone convinced Mr Brasher to give the firearm to her,’’ Ms Judd said.
Earlier, police prosecutor Trudie Lusted told the court that in the days before the Poatina shooting, Loone stole petrol worth $94.54 from the Caltex service station at Latrobe, and groceries worth $25.08 from the IGA X-press at Ouse.
Mrs Lusted also said that Loone told police she thought she had been travelling in a Holden Commodore.
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