Gympie labourer Damien John Kaye pleads guilty to gun shop break-in

A 39-year-old labourer has fronted court over a stunning 30-offence crime spree in which he broke into a gun shop, evaded the cops and committed “just about everything in the books”.

A 39-year-old manual labourer has faced Gympie Magistrates Court over a stunning crime spree in which he broke into a gun shop, evaded the cops, and committed “just about everything in the books”.

A 39-year-old labourer was “not thinking” when he launched a crime spree across the region in which he broke into a gun shop and committed “just about everything in the books”, a court has heard.

Damian John Kaye, of Cedar Pocket, carried out his spree of offending across several months from October 2023 to February 2024, before it finally came to a halt after his arrest.

Across this period he committed more than 30 crimes, a spate of offending which included breaking and entering, evading police, lighting fires, driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle without a licence and possessing weapons.

The most serious crimes were committed against places where guns were kept, the Gympie Magistrates Court heard.

On the first occasion on January 31, 2024, he broke into Owens Guns by cutting a padlock and stole 400 bullets.

Less than a month later, on February 24, 2024, Kaye broke into the Gympie Clay Target Club and stole two shotguns, shotgun shells and clay target shooting vests.

He was arrested by police two days later.

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Damian John Kaye, 39, has faced Gympie Magistrates Court over a stunning crime spree in which he broke into Owen Guns (pictured), evaded police, and committed more than 30 offences.

Officers found him in possession of three shotguns and a “large amount of shells”, the court was told.

Lawyer Babu Singh said his 39-year-old client was “just not thinking” at the time he committed “just about everything in the books minus some very serious offences”.

“Obviously something went wrong … he just went berserk,” Mr Singh said.

“There is a fetish of either breaking, or receiving, or driving unlicensed … he basically went to town for it.”

The court heard Kaye had a four-page criminal history of similar offending.

Magistrate Bevan Hughes told Kaye his crimes put the public at risk in a number of ways.

These included risking putting illegal firearms and ammunition on the streets, and endangering the public on the roads during instances like his evasion of the police by “accelerating, doing a U-turn, and driving off”.

Mr Hughes took particular umbrage at a charge laid against Kaye when he refused a court order about his mobile phone.

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Kaye was sentenced to one year’s jail with immediate parole, having already spent 99 days in pre-sentence custody. He was banned from driving for two years.

“That order was made by me, not the police … and independent person,” Mr Hughes said.

He said the order had been made only after careful consideration of matters including Kaye’s rights at the time.

“I don’t just rubber stamp them,” he said.

“That offence strikes at the administration of justice.”

Kaye pleaded guilty to two counts of breaking and entering, four counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, four counts of breaching bail, three counts of driving without a licence as a repeat offender, three counts of driving an unregistered vehicle, three counts of driving an uninsured vehicle, three counts of receiving tainted property, two counts of lighting an unauthorised fire, two counts of possessing drug utensils or pipes, two counts of possessing tainted property, and one count each of possessing explosives (bullets), possessing dangerous drugs, contravening a court order, stealing, evading police, and driving without due care and attention,

He was sentenced to one year’s jail with immediate parole, having already spent 99 days in pre-sentence custody.

Kaye was banned from driving for two years.