Jay Ryan: South Grafton man sentenced for firearm, weapon, drug offences

A North Coast man who works for a NSW jail’s private operator pointed a shortened rifle at a friend’s head and was later busted with a stash of drugs, weapons and cash, a court has heard.

Generic image of arrest

A North Coast dad with a violent history found himself on the wrong side of the law again after police watched a video of him pointing a gun at a mate’s head.

South Grafton man Jay Ryan, 29, fronted Grafton Local Court via videolink on Monday.

He had pleaded guilty to possessing a shortened rife, aggravated possession of an unregistered gun, carrying a firearm in a manner likely to cause injury, possessing ammunition, possessing a prohibited weapon without a permit and cannabis possession.

He had also previously been charged 12 times, with a large number of these charges relating to violent offences, a court heard.

Ryan pointed a gun at a friend’s head. Generic image.

According to police facts, on September 18, 2022, Ryan was filmed by friends shooting a shortened .22 calibre rifle in the Coutts Crossing bushland, around 20km southwest of Grafton.

“During the videos, (Ryan) and his friends are waving the gun around and at one point (Ryan) leans in the car and points the firearm at his mate’s head,” police facts state.

“The risk of serious harm if the firearm was to be fired would be extreme.”

At multiple points in the video the gun is loaded, police state.

Police arrested Ryan just over a year later. File picture.

Just over a year later, on September 28, 2023, police arrested Ryan at his Grafton home and executed a search warrant.

When the officers asked him why he had pointed the gun at his friend’s head, he said: “It wasn’t loaded, it was a joke,” police facts state.

In his house, police found cannabis in resealable bags, a cannabis plant and a laser pointer.

The officers also found the car keys for a Toyota Landcruiser, which Ryan said he did not own, a court heard.

However, the officers spotted Ryan’s partner – who is not accused of any wrongdoing – placing a black sports bag inside the car.

When police subsequently searched the car, they found .36 and .22 calibre ammunition, court documents state.

Inside the black sports bag, police found a haul of cannabis – 1.072kg in total – $100 in cash, a rifle sight and a grip for a rifle with the trigger guard attached.

“The grip appeared to be very similar to the one seen in the photos and videos of (Ryan) shooting the firearm,” police facts state.

Generic image of a firearm.

In court, defence lawyer Brett Marshall conceded the threshold for jail was crossed, adding Ryan had been in custody on remand since September last year.

He told the court Ryan was a construction workers for Serco — the company which operates the privately-owned Clarence Correctional Centre near Grafton.

The court also heard Ryan had a difficult upbringing and, at the time of the offending, was self-medicating.

Magistrate Roger Prowse noted Ryan’s lengthy criminal record.

“I’ve read your announcement that you’ve finally come to the conclusion that you’re not much use as a criminal … not everybody can be a quick learner,” Mr Prowse said.

Ryan was convicted and sentenced to a 28-month prison sentence, to be served in the community by way of an intensive corrections order.