Randall Boneham: Man charged with firearm offences sentenced

A man from the Northern Rivers charged with a range of firearm offences, including being in possession of a fully loaded assault rifle, learned his fate in court.

A young Northern Rivers man caught with a fully loaded illegal firearm has been jailed despite an earlier public vow to turn his life around.

Randall Boneham, 28, appeared before Tweed Heads Local Court on September 7 after he had previously spent time in custody since July.

Court documents reveal Boneham was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to an array of offences, including possessing a firearm without a licence and driving a vehicle during a disqualification period.

Police conducted a search on the Colonial Tweed Holiday and Home Park in Tweed Heads South where Randall resided as part of a major police blitz on bikies and organised crime gangs on the Queensland/NSW border.

He initially denied there were any firearms at the location.

Randall Boneham.

Police state that while searching Randall’s bedroom, he then disclosed to police that he was in possession of a Carl Gustaf’s branded rifle located in a black “Sola Spirit level” bag.

The rifle was found loaded with ammunition and could be readily fired.

Boneham was placed under arrest and escorted to Tweed Heads Police station, where he admitted to receiving the firearm a week prior and was aware it was in a loaded state.

Boneham was unable to explain to the police what he intended to do with the rifle.

At Tweed Heads Local Court on September 7, magistrate Geoff Dunlevy convicted Boneham and sentenced him to 15 months’ imprisonment.

Boneham had previously vowed publicly to go straight when he was then one of the dozens of people arrested in the joint agency Operation Viking involving NSW and Queensland police, the Australian Federal Police, NSW Crime Commission and Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.

Originally published as Randall Boneham: Man charged with firearm offences sentenced