A 29-year-old Kalgoorlie man who arranged to sell a high-powered rifle illegally has narrowly avoided an immediate prison term, just days after Crime Stoppers and WA Police launched a new campaign targeting illegal firearms.
The Kalgoorlie Magistrate's Court heard detectives used phone intercepts to track down Caleb Oreste Sceghi, who drove 260 kilometres from Kalgoorlie-Boulder to Menzies and back to purchase the Browning .22 bolt-action rifle from a third party.
Police had been listening in to his calls and SMS messages for a week prior to his arrest and learned he planned to sell it to another man.
He was taken into custody before he could complete the transaction, but the court heard the arrest did not all go to plan.
At 1.20pm on March 16, police were set up for a traffic stop on the Goldfields Highway, but he darted off-road to escape pursuit.
At 2.31pm, police intercepted an SMS message to his de facto partner which read: "I need to stash something".
At 4pm, police raided his property, finding the rifle under his bed and the detached rifle scope on a bedside drawer.
'He didn't ask any questions'
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Matthew Hallsworth said "the level of harm that could have been caused" made this an "extreme example" of this type of offence.
"He had a plan and was quite determined," he said.
"You can see he drove 260 kilometres to Menzies and back to Kalgoorlie to carry out that plan.
Magistrate Matthew Holgate agreed, saying he needed to send a strong message to the community.
"The reason we have a licensing system for firearms is obvious … they're deadly," he said.
"From time to time they are used in the commission of offences or threats.
Murray Stubbs, from the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA, said his client had been out of work for a significant period and needed the money.
He said Sceghi, who was banned from holding a firearms licence in 2017 after a previous firearms conviction, had spent the past four weeks in custody at Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison.
"There is no suggestion my client used the rifle in any way," he said.
Prison term suspended
Mr Stubbs said Sceghi used to work as a tyre fitter at the Super Pit before getting involved in drugs and told him he stopped using methylamphetamine three months ago.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months.
Magistrate Holgate said he could have faced a maximum penalty of three years' imprisonment or a $12,000 fine for the firearms charge.
"I understand drug rehab is no magic wand," Magistrate Hallsworth said.
New campaign targets illegal guns
Earlier this week, Crime Stoppers and WA Police launched phase two of its National Illegal Firearms Campaign which is aimed at reducing the number of firearms in the community.
During the initial phase, there was a gun amnesty which encouraged people to surrender weapons without penalty.
From July last year to March this year, a total of 1,250 firearms and gun parts were handed in to WA Police, along with 35,183 rounds of ammunition.
Among the haul was 126 handguns, 245 shot guns and a total of 879 rifles and gun parts.
Crime Stoppers WA chief executive Vince Hughes said the next phase of the campaign asks people with any information about illegal firearms or ammunition to report it confidentially.
He said the majority of gun owners are responsible.
"Most people would be very cognisant of keeping their firearms secure, but it only takes a small number and they're the firearms that end up on the street, they're the firearms that end up in criminal activity, some with devastating outcomes," he said.
