Dale McCleary found with illegal gun haul at his Ngunnawal home
He lent a hand to struggling farmers battling drought but now Dale McCleary has been blasted by a magistrate after police found an arsenal of dodgily-stored guns at his Canberra home.
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A local “hero” who lent a hand to struggling farmers battling drought has been blasted by a magistrate after police found an arsenal of dodgily-stored guns at his Canberra home.
Dale Lachlan McCleary, 63, was on Wednesday sentenced over a string of gun charges in the ACT Magistrates Court, which heard he will face a fresh round of punishment at an upcoming New South Wales District Court sentencing hearing.
McCleary’s legal strife stemmed from a 2017 police check on his Ngunnawal home, where he had a part-time business as a firearm dealer.
Court records show he originally faced 22 charges as a result of the search, but a long series of negotiations saw him plead guilty to five offences.
The court heard McCleary’s garage had storage for around 30 guns and police searched the property because he had at least 86 registered with them.
The police search found rifles with their firing mechanisms still installed, an offence which Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker said could make them more dangerous if they fell into the wrong hands.
Five guns were kept in a bank-style safe, rather than a gun safe, an offence which Ms Walker said was serious, because the bank safe wasn’t bolted to the ground, despite being so heavy it would have needed a crane to move it.
Two shotguns and a semiautomatic rifle were unregistered, two more firearms were unauthorised and a semiautomatic rifle was a prohibited weapon because it had a high volume magazine.
Ms Walker said Australia’s strict gun laws were in place so police could keep tabs on who owned potentially-dangerous weapons, and so they could keep them from falling into the wrong hands.
She said firearms dealers had a responsibility to properly store, register and account for the small arsenals of weapons they keep.
McCleary produced a ream of glowing character references from respected community figures, which Ms Walker said showed he contributed to the community and was well respected.
McCleary runs a crane business in Griffith, and was named Griffith City Council 2019 Australia Day Local Hero of the Year for his tireless volunteer work delivering supplies to struggling farmers.
He has since had to undergo heart surgery and has handed over thousands in legal fees to deal with prosecutions in the ACT and NSW.
Ms Walker said gun dealers needed to be sent a message that the courts would punish those who failed to keep up with the strict obligations gun owners had to meet.
She convicted him on all counts, sentenced him to a 12-month good behaviour bond, fined him $3000 and ordered him to do 75 hours of community work.