STATE OF TASMANIA v PHILIP EDWARD RYLANDS 3 SEPTEMBER 2021
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE ESTCOURT J
The defendant, Phillip Edward Rylands has pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing a prohibited firearm when not the holder of a firearm licence of the appropriate category. I also agreed pursuant to s 385A of the Criminal Code to deal with some related summary offences, namely possession of ammunition and fail to take all precautions to safely store both the firearm and the ammunition, and I have confirmed pleas of guilty through counsel to those matters.
On 1 July 2020 at 7pm, Tasmania Police attended the defendant’s residence, in possession of a search warrant. The defendant led police to a workshop in the rear of the premises and to a shelf where a Gevarm semi-automatic .22 rifle was found. The rifle did not have a serial number, but was stamped with the Gevarm brand.
The rifle appeared to police to be dusty and potentially untouched and unused for some time. The defendant also produced .22 ammunition from a tool chest.
Neither the firearm nor the ammunition was stored correctly, and the defendant did not have the appropriate licence in respect of them. They were seized. The Gevarm rifle is classified as a “category C firearm” and is also classified as a “prohibited firearm”. It is a semi-automatic rifle.
The defendant has no relevant prior convictions and is a man of good character.
After the defendant’s grandfather, with whom he had lived and of whom he was extremely fond, died in 2011, the firearm remained in a shipping container for a number of years. It was only in later years, on the attending of his late grandfather’s residence and cleaning out the shipping container in the yard that he located the firearm and realised it was deteriorating and could have been easily accessed.
He made the unwise decision to take the firearm home and then he stored it in the back of his shed, notably which is always locked, and he stored ammunition in a locked toolbox.
Mr Rylands had the intention to apply for a firearms licence, and has now done so subject to these proceedings being disposed of, being a licence in the nature of a heirloom licence and subject to the result, he would be able to have that firearm registered and keep it in his possession. It was his lack of understanding and his busy commitments I am told that led him not to do this at any earlier time.
These offences are serious like all firearm offences, however in my view they are at the lower end of the spectrum. The defendant will be fined $500 and I record a conviction.