Dominic Saliba guilty to firearm possession following manslaughter trial in Nowra
A man found guilty of killing his cousin at a South Coast house party is set to be sentenced for a separate offence, after officers made a disturbing find in his ceiling just hours after the stabbing.
The South Coast News
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A man found guilty of killing his teenage cousin at a South Coast house party is set to be sentenced for another offence, after a search of his property following the fatal stabbing uncovered a modified rifle hidden in his roof.
Dominic Saliba, 22, pleaded guilty in Nowra Local Court to possessing a firearm without a licence or permit, just days after he was found guilty of manslaughter in the Supreme Court.
The firearm charge stems from a discovery investigators made when searching Saliba’s home after he fatally stabbed his 18-year-old cousin, Bailey Jones, at a house party in Bomaderry on December 9, 2022.
Searching officers found a painted and modified .303 rifle hidden in Saliba’s roof cavity, with security camera footage also seized showing the 22-year-old painting the gun in his front yard just hours before Mr Jones was fatally stabbed.
It is not suggested Saliba intended to use the rifle on his cousin.
Agreed facts confirm the rifle was unregistered and that Saliba did not have a firearms licence or permit.
He was later charged with the firearms offence while in custody for killing Mr Jones.
In Nowra Local Court on Monday before Magistrate Lisa Viney, Saliba’s illegal firearm case was referred to the higher court for sentence, given his recent manslaughter trial.
He will be sentenced in the Supreme Court in Sydney on June 18 for possessing the modified gun.
The sentencing comes after Saliba was found guilty of manslaughter following a nearly two-week long trial in the Supreme Courts in Nowra on April 2, before Justice Dina Yehia.
He will be sentenced for the manslaughter at a later date.
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