A 19-year-old man was caught in possession of a shortened shotgun just three weeks after receiving a suspended jail sentence, the Launceston Magistrates Court heard on Monday.
Heath Alexander Carter of Ravenswood pleaded guilty to a count of possession of stolen firearms, a count of possess of ammunition, possess a thing for administration of a controlled drug and possess a shortened firearm on August 6, 2021.
He also pleaded guilty to being found prepared for the commission of a crime for having a pair of scissors and a covering.
Magistrate Simon Brown said it was very concerning that such a young person was in possession of a disturbing weapon - namely a shortened Baikal 1J18 single barrel 12-gauge shotgun. He was also in possession of a shotgun shell.
On July 16 Carter was sentenced to a jail term of which 82 days was suspended by Magistrate Ken Stanton on the condition that he commit no imprisonable offence for twelve months.
Police prosecutor Russell Forsyth made an application that the suspended sentence be activated on Monday.
Defence counsel Beri Kurdistan said the new offending was substantially less than that in the previous sentence which included eight counts of motor vehicle stealing.
However, in sentencing on Monday Mr Brown said that it was a great concern that within three weeks of his previous sentence that he was back in custody.
"Your record is a concerning one," he said.
"This is a continuation of the same sort of offending and firearms have played a strong role.
"Your possession of such a dangerous article is a considerable concern at a time when gun crime is a matter of great public concern."
He activated the suspended sentence of 82 days from August 6, 2021 and added a further fourteen weeks jail for the latest crimes.
Ten weeks of the sentence was suspended on the condition that he commit no imprisonable offence for 12 months.
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Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
