A man who shot a hole in a garage door with a rifle before allegedly driving at speed to flee police in Longford and Cressy has pleaded guilty to a firearms offence.
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Ethan Daniel Baker, 27, of Conara, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court on Wednesday to recklessly discharging a firearm in relation to the incident in Longford in the early hours of April 6 last year.
The court heard Baker had borrowed a Holden Commodore from a house in Longford the evening prior, returning it at 1.30am.
This lateness resulted in a dispute with the occupants, one of whom slashed the tyres of the car to prevent Baker from taking it again. As she went back into the house, a loud "bang" was heard.
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Baker had earlier been witnessed in possession of a rifle with a scope and camouflage tape.
He allegedly took off in the Commodore before police were called. They found a .22 caliber cartridge on the driveway and a hole in the garage door at hip height. A mark was also spotted on a wall inside the garage.
Baker drove past a marked police car on Wellington Street in Longford at 9.30pm and an attempt was made to pull him over, but Baker allegedly continued at high speed towards Cressy.
He passed another police car at Cressy, and road spikes were placed on Powranna Road. Baker allegedly continued onto the Midland Highway and came to a stop at Epping Forest.
He allegedly abandoned the car, took the rifle, climbed a barbed wire fence and hid in bushland. Police found the rifle, and then spotted Baker hiding under a tree nearby.
He remained silent during a police interview.
The court heard Baker has developed a recent addiction to methylamphetamine, but had been able to stay abstinent for large periods during mid-2020.
It was not alleged that he brought the rifle to the Longford address with the intention of firing it.
Baker has not entered a plea to the driving offences and will appear at a hearing in the Magistrates Court on December 4.
He will be sentenced in the Supreme Court on Friday in relation to the firearms offence.
Judge Robert Pearce said Baker could not be placed on another drug treatment order, but a suspended sentence was within range.