Gold Coast gun crime: Nihad Kapur, 30, pleads to possessing a short firearm in public

A GOLD Coast man has been sentenced to prison for pulling a handgun from his pants and pointing it at an elite police officer during an operation to arrest a wanted man, a court has heard.

A GOLD Coast man has been sentenced to prison for pulling a handgun from his pants and pointing it at an elite police officer during an operation to arrest a wanted man, a court has heard.

Nihad Kapur, 30, pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court today to possessing a short firearm in public.

The court was told Kapur fled from a car during a police operation to arrest an associate he was travelling with at Labrador on February 10, 2018.

Nihad Kapur, 30, pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court today to possessing a short firearm in public.

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As police arrested the driver of the car, Kapur pulled the Phoenix 0.22 hand gun from his pants, held it in a two-handed grip and briefly aimed it at a Special Emergency Response Team officer who was driving a vehicle.

The court was told the officer felt exposed on the street and unable to reach for his own weapon.

Kapur dropped the weapon after aiming it at the officer for a brief moment.

The target of the operation allegedly rammed his car into police vehicles repeatedly during the operation, the court heard.

The car which rammed into police vehicles at the scene.

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Crown prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher told the court the concerning features of the case was that the weapon was loaded and cocked and Kapur had no explanation for having the gun.

Ms Gallagher said the matter was not unlike the situation that resulted in the shooting death of Senior Constable Brett Forte in 2017.

She said it was a “particularly bad” example of possessing a weapon in a public place.

Barrister David Funch, instructed by Howden Saggers Lawyers, said his client intended to dispose of the weapon “in a hurry” after getting out of the car and the possession was “fairly transitory”. Mr Funch said there were three other people in the car with Kapur.

He said Kapur had a traumatic childhood in war torn Bosnia which included witnessing his mother seriously injured and many deaths from a young age in the fighting.

Mr Funch said Kapur was a qualified painter with two children who had good prospects of rehabilitation.

Judge Brian Devereaux SC said the community would be appalled to know people were in possession of a loaded firearm.

Judge Devereaux sentenced Kapur to two years prison with a parole eligibility day of May 5 this year. The 272 days Kapur had spent in custody were counted as time already served.