A man who went missing in January and who recently returned to Tasmania appeared in the Launceston Magistrates Court about alleged possession of $50,000 worth of gold bars and coins from a storage shed at Legana.
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Michael Gregory Fish, 39, of no fixed address, did not plead to nine charges.
A co-accused woman, Amber Lee Smith, of no fixed address, did not plead.
The defendants appeared on April 15 on a count of possession of $2500 of stolen property, namely gold bullion, coins, and a bar, and a count of dishonestly acquiring a financial advantage from SJ City Cash.
They also appeared on charges of possessing stolen property worth $17,000 and dishonestly acquiring a financial advantage from SJ City Cash on April 16.
They faced a count of possession of stolen property worth $22,400 and a count of attempt to dishonestly acquire a financial advantage on April 23.
Other charges included possession of a controlled drug and possession of an ice pipe.
A further charge of possession of property included four watches, a box of jewellery, an identification card, a quantity of Australian and foreign currency, an alarm clock, and a gold chain.
Magistrate Sharon Cure remanded Fish in custody until April 30 for a continued bail hearing.
Ms Smith was bailed to reappear on June 7 2024.
Tasmania Police called for information about Mr Fish after he went missing on Christmas Eve.
In 2020, Fish pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, stealing firearms and stealing ammunition and a wedding ring from a Fingal property on April 22, 2019.
He was sentenced to nine months in jail.
In 2023, Fish pleaded guilty to a raft of charges, including shooting and killing a possum when unlicensed to own a firearm.
In the 2020 sentencing, Acting Justice David Porter said Fish seemed to have had an unremarkable upbringing and, until the time substance abuse overwhelmed him, had held down several jobs.
"After leaving year 10, he trained in the meatworks industry and ultimately became floor manager in a plant with supervision and training responsibilities for over 100 employees," Acting Justice Porter said.
"He acknowledges drinking to excess in his teenage years and using cannabis in early adulthood. This escalated to methamphetamine use when he was 26, having been introduced to the drug by his then-partner.
"Serious addiction followed. His use was daily. He has had periods of abstinence, particularly while interstate. But on returning to Tasmania, he fell in with old associates and reverted to heavy methamphetamine use."
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.
