Michael Ross Tyler released on bail at Taree court after 3D gun printing case

A man once referred to by police as a “doomsday prepper” has been released from custody after nine months behind bars. Get the latest from court.

Items seized by police at Michael Tyler's Taree home.

A Taree man once referred to by police as a “doomsday prepper” has been released after more than nine months behind bars.

Michael Ross Tyler told the Taree District Court on Thursday he had not grasped the gravity of what he was doing when he used a 3D printer to produce various gun parts.

“It was something that intrigued me,” Tyler said.

“It was stupidity on my part really. I’m sorry for being foolish enough to let my inquisitiveness get me to that point.”

The 58-year-old has spent the past nine months and 13 days remanded in custody after being denied bail – firstly in Taree Local Court and again in the Supreme Court.

The prosecution alleged Tyler was a reclusive man whose “doomsday prepper” lifestyle made him a potential flight risk.

Now Tyler has faced Judge Penelope Wass for sentencing after pleading guilty to two charges of possessing a digital blueprint for the manufacture of firearms and one count of attempting to manufacture a prohibited firearm without a permit.

Michael Ross Tyler from Taree, pleaded guilty in Taree District Court on July 4 to two charges of possessing a digital blueprint for the manufacture of firearms and one count of manufacturing a prohibited firearm without a permit. Pictures: Facebook

During Thursday’s hearing, his brother Paul Joseph Tyler, who operates a local painting and decorating company, took the stand and said he was “in total shock” when charges were laid.

Mr Paul Tyler, who isn’t accused of any wrongdoing, told the court his brother had been a gun enthusiast since their early days growing up on a rural property in the area and became a member of the Taree Pistol Club at the age of 17.

He described his brother as a “law abiding, decent person” who had always kept his guns safely – recounting a time he was building a new home and needed to store his guns at his brother’s house.

Michael Ross Tyler. Picture: Facebook

After working at Bunnings for 14 years, Tyler went to work full-time at his brother’s painting and decorating business, dropping back to part-time at the hardware store.

Mr Tyler said he spoke to his brother every day while he was locked up in Clarence Correctional Centre, but never asked him about his motive as he was not sure if calls were monitored.

Judge Wass told the court she needed more information about Tyler’s motivation for printing the gun parts otherwise she would be “sentencing with no evidence of motive”.

An image from Michael Tyler’s Facebook page shows a birthday cake with what appears to be fondant in the shape of a pistol perched on top of it. Picture: Facebook

After speaking briefly with his lawyer, Tyler agreed to take the stand and said he bought the 3D printer online for his son’s school work at a cost of $300, but it was more complicated to use then he’d anticipated.

“He struggled with it – they’re not as simple as people think they are,” Judge Wass said.

In relation to using the printer to make gun parts, he added: “Some parts can take up to ten to 12 hours to print and if there’s any disturbance it can end up like a bird’s nest of plastic and you have to start again.”

He also told the court the plastic parts were very “frail” and he had seen videos on YouTube of guns made with similar parts exploding.

Asked why he had printed so many versions of some parts – including 10 magazine catch bars – he said it was to practice on the simple parts saying he had no intention of manufacturing several guns.

Items seized by police at the Taree home of Michael Tyler.

“No not at all, I just wanted to see if it was possible to make one,” he said.

“It was my intention to see if I could try to build one – I never fully believed I would be able to.”

Tyler said he had given up on the enterprise around mid-2022 about 12 months prior to being arrested.

Judge Wass told the court Tyler had “the cleanest record I’ve seen – including my own”.

While not diminishing the potential seriousness of Tyler’s actions she said the plastic parts on their own posed no more threat than “a potato masher” and that “curiosity has killed the cat” in this case.

She indicated imposing a corrections order to be served in the community telling Tyler “you should spend no further time in custody” and invited his lawyer to apply for bail which she granted.

Tyler was released on bail and will be sentenced on July 19.

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