Richard Mills pleads guilty to possessing imitation firearm

A forensic cleaner who left behind a fake gun after moving house has been scolded in court for his “stupidity”.

March 2015, Geelong Generic file shots of land marks around the city of Geelong Victoria. Geelong Magistrates Court Picture: Mitch Bear

A forensic cleaner has been scolded by a magistrate for his “stupidity” after being found with a fake gun.

Richard Mills, 36, appeared in the Geelong Magistrates Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to a single charge of possessing an imitation firearm.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Chris Sinfield told the court police executed a warrant at Grovedale address on September 14 last year.

Mills’ sister and another occupant of the share house were present, but Mills himself was not at the property at the time.

During the search, police found an imitation Colt handgun with Mills’ fingerprints on it, Sen-Constable Sinfield said.

A ballistic test confirmed the gun was fake and could not be discharged.

Mills was interviewed on October 1, 2023, and made admissions, but was not served with the charges until July, the court heard.

The court heard Mills had relevant prior, but an otherwise limited criminal history.
He previously appeared in court in 2021 on charges including possessing a prohibited weapon without exemption – which the court heard was a “home made taser” and possessing cartridge ammunition – 50 rounds of .22 calibre ammunition.

Prior to that, in May 2019 he fronted court on charges of possessing and using ice and dealing with property suspected to be the proceeds of crime.

Mills’ lawyer, Tim Hancock, told the court Mills conceded the offending was serious.

Mr Hancock told the court Mills had moved out of the share house by the time the warrant was executed.

He said Mills realised he should have handed the gun in to police “in a fairly timely manner” but said realistically, it “wasn’t at the top of his priority list” as he moved out.

The court heard Mills, a former roof tiler, was working as a forensic cleaner for a company based in Hoppers Crossing at the time.

He had been frank and forthright with his employer and had been let go, pending the outcome of the matter.

Magistrate Peter Mellas said while there was no evidence the fake gun had was in Mills’ possession in relation to any other offending, it was “a pretty good example of stupidity”.

“You’ve got a history of drugs, weapons offences … you’re making decisions that are just plain stupid,” Mr Mellas said.

“The first thing you do is dispose of it, destroy it or hand it over to police.

“With your history, you shouldn’t be within cooee of these sort of items.”

Mills was convicted and fined $1500.

“Have a think about where you’re going,” Mr Mellas told him.

Originally published as Richard Mills pleads guilty to possessing imitation firearm