Wagga District Court: Mostapha Ali, 23, of Young sentenced to jail for having loaded shotgun
A man is now behind bars after speeding off from police who later found a double-barrelled shotgun, drugs and other weapons in his van.
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A Riverina man has been sentenced to jail after having a loaded double-barrelled shotgun, drugs and other weapons in his van because he thought they were “cool”.
Mostapha Ali, of Young, appeared via videolink in Wagga District Court on Friday after pleading guilty to possessing a loaded firearm in a public place and possessing a shortened firearm.
Ali, aged 23 and who worked part-time at an Ulladulla abattoir, also pleaded guilty to possessing ammunition without permit, drive while disqualified and affixing unauthorised number plate.
Court documents state in March 2019, police approached a suspicious white van in Young when it sped off.
It was later found unlocked at another house where police found an unlocked toolbox containing the loaded shotgun wrapped in a pillow case, and a spare shell nearby.
They also found a flick knife, taser, extendable baton, 121 tablets of steroid, 0.43 grams of ice and an iPhone 10 registered to Ali.
A DNA profile consistent with Ali’s was found on the toolbox and taser.
At the time, he was on parole for a police pursuit.
Police arrested him a month later and found a strip of Bupernorphine on him.
During a sentencing hearing earlier this year, Ali told the court he bought the shotgun but had no intention of using it.
However, he also said he used it to shoot a snake on his farm.
When asked about the other weapons found, he said he thought they were “cool”.
During cross examination, Crown prosecutor Samuel Baumgarten asked Ali why the gun was loaded and he said it was easier to keep the shells where they were.
Ali also told the court being in custody has taken a toll on his life and that he wanted to be a contributing member of the community.
Ali’s lawyer Johnson Jiang argued there was no evidence Ali had used or intended to use the gun in public.
Mr Jiang also said there was no evidence Ali had personally shortened the gun.
In court on Friday, Judge Gordon Lerve said he rejected Ali’s argument that he did not intend to use the shotgun and that “there can be no legitimate reason for the possession of such a weapon”.
“Put simply, if there was no intention to use the weapon then there was no necessity for ammunition to be anywhere near the weapon, let alone a cartridge being in the breech,” he said.
Judge Lerve said the shooting of the snake showed that the gun was working.
He also said he was not satisfied that Ali was unlikely to reoffend because the offences were committed while Ali was on parole in addition to his criminal history and the sentencing assessment report.
However, he said he was satisfied Ali was remorseful.
For the shotgun offences, Ali was sentenced to a maximum of four years and six months’ jail.
Judge Lever also took into account three counts of possess prohibited weapon and three counts of possess prohibited drug.
With a non-parole period of three years and having been in custody since April 2019, Ali will be eligible for early release in April 2022.
Judgement in full