Aaron Dion Densley in court for trying to steal gun from Owen Guns

A tradesman who tried to steal a .22 rifle from a well known Queensland gun store claimed he needed it because his friend had been raped.

Gympie tradie Aaron Dion Densley, 40, was foiled while attempting to steal a .22 rifle from Owen Guns in October 2024.

A Gympie tradesman who tried to steal a .22 rifle from Gympie gun store Owen Guns claimed he was trying to take it because a friend had been raped.

Aaron Dion Densley, 40, went into the shop on the southern outskirts of Gympie on October 12, 2024 and asked to see their range of rifles.

Crown prosecutor Katrina Overell told the Gympie District Court on Wednesday that once Densley had the rifle in his hands, he tried to leave the shop with it.

When a staff member tried to stop him, Densley pushed him, and a struggle broke out.

Employees were finally able to wrest the gun away from Densley and he was arrested by police at the Great Eastern Motor Inn about 100m up the road.

Gympie tradie Aaron Dion Densley, 40, tried to steal a .22 rifle from Owen Guns in October 2024.

Staff said he had claimed he “needed the gun for a friend in Brisbane who had been raped”, the court heard.

It was the second time Densley had violently attacked someone while experiencing a “psychotic” break.

The court heard the other incident happened in March 2021, when he entered the driveway of a Curra property near his own home.

A neighbour alerted the property’s owners, a man and his 18-year-old son, who confronted Densley and asked what he was doing.

He told them he was “looking for someone”, an answer which the 18-year-old did not believe.

When the teen approached Densley he first turned to leave, and then spun back around and swung a glass bottle he was carrying at the 18-year-old’s head.

The teen luckily caught Densley’s hand and took the bottle but, when he went to throw it away, Densley started punching him in the head.

A fight then broke out, after which Densley left the scene.

The teen was left with bruising and swelling from the attack.

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Gympie tradie Aaron Dion Densley, 40, was foiled while attempting to steal a .22 rifle from Owen Guns in October 2024.

The court was told Densley was not using his anti-psychosis medication at the time and had been hearing the voices of friends.

Densley’s lawyer said the 40-year-old was diagnosed* schizophrenic and was not on medication at the time of his offending.

He had grown up in a “transient” lifestyle amid family turmoil, and the lifestyle had continued as an adult, the court heard.

Densley had been taking his first steps toward starting a car detailing business, which Judge Bernard Porter said would be impossible unless he managed his mental health problems.

Judge Porter said it was clear Densley’s story about needing to protect a friend who had been raped was not true.

He accepted Densley’s guilty pleas to charges of attempted robbery, trespass, and three counts of assault and sentenced him to two-and-a-half years’ jail.

Densley will be eligible for parole from May 30, 2025 owing to 200 days served in pre-sentence custody.