Former Bandidos bikie Steig Roald Borholm jailed over firearms offences and bail breaches

An ex-Bandido who earns $2000 a week as a mechanic after getting “too old” to be a bikie gave a court a sad reason for keeping a loaded handgun for years.

A one-time Bandidos bikie banned from holding guns said he took a loaded pistol from a terminally ill friend he feared was going to harm himself.

But he will serve more than two years in jail for keeping it long after his friend’s death, with his plea for leniency falling flat in the District Court.

The loaded revolver was found by SA Police officers at a St Mary’s address in April 2023, with Steig Roald Borholm, 38, who was charged over the discovery, telling the court the gun was not originally his.

“You said that you received a visit from an old friend who was extremely unwell with a terminal cancer diagnosis,” Judge Anthony Allen said during sentencing.

“You say that he showed you the pistol and that he was going to (self harm).

“You said that you convinced your friend otherwise, and as a consequence of your reluctance to leave the pistol in his possession in that state of mind, you took the pistol from him.

“You indicated that your friend died shortly afterwards … On your own version this means you were in possession of the firearm for a period in excess of two years.”

Prosecutors told the court that version should not be a mitigatory factor in sentencing, and Judge Allen said he agreed.

“The fact is that you had in your possession a loaded handgun at the time you were subject to a firearms prohibition order,” he said.

The court heard the gun’s serial number had been “obliterated”.

Borholm pleaded guilty to a number of different firearms and breach of bail charges.

They included two counts of possessing a firearm while a prohibition order was in force, four counts of possessing a firearm without a licence, one count of aggravated possessing a firearm without a licence, possessing a firearm without an identifying mark and possessing ammunition without a licence, eight counts of failing to comply with a bail agreement and driving while disqualified.

Borholm said in an apology letter he was getting “too old” for his current lifestyle.

Borholm had previously been imprisoned for an aggravated robbery of Harley Davidson motorbikes in 2014 – that involved a handgun – when he was a member of the Bandidos bikie gang.

During an earlier police search of an address in Paralowie, occupied by Borholm, police found a number of rifle and long-arm gel blasters.

Borholm said they were “kids toys” and they were used in recreational “skirmishes”.

The court heard Borholm was a father of four known for his “generosity” and the assistance he “readily” gave to his family and friends.

Judge Allen said Borholm was a “proficient mechanic” who previously ran his own business and earned $2000 a week.

In a letter to the court, Borholm said he had reached a stage in his life where he was “too old” to continue with the type of “lifestyle” he had previously led.

Judge Allen sentenced Borholm on June 19, 2024 to an accumulative jail sentence of two years, 11 months, with a non parole period of two years, three months and 25 days.

The sentence was backdated to April last year.

Originally published as Former Bandidos bikie Steig Roald Borholm jailed over firearms offences and bail breaches