Scott Parker: Oakleigh East man pleads guilty to rifle, cannabis possession

A man has copped his penalty in court after bags of cannabis were found at his home, along with a rifle that he claimed he found in the ceiling of his old house.

Oakleigh East’s Scott Parker leaves Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on January 31, 2023. Picture: Kiel Egging

A Oakleigh East man has learnt his fate in court after confessing to being a heavy cannabis user after a rifle and multiple zip-lock bags of the drug were found during a house raid.

Scott Parker, 50, pleaded guilty to six charges from two matters at Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on January 31, including possession of a firearm and quantities of cannabis.

Magistrate Kirstie Grigor sentenced Parker to a 12 month community corrections order without conviction during a Ringwood Magistrates’ Court hearing on February 7.

She dismissed a possess cannabis charge, and placed Parker on a CCO for the balance of the charges.

Ms Grigor ordered Parker to undergo supervision, treatment and rehabilitation for drug use or dependency as directed.

The court previously heard police attended Parker’s home on Dandenong Rd with a firearms search warrant on August 17, 2022.

They found a rifle in his upstairs bedroom, along with 10 zip-lock bags containing cannabis in his property and car, totalling 266g.

Parker told police he had found the rifle, which was not loaded, in the ceiling of his old home in Ferntree Gully, and that he had used cannabis for “most of my life”.

Officers did not find any rifle ammunition during their search.

In an earlier incident, the court heard Parker was pulled over by police while driving on Burwood Highway in Ferntree Gully on March 10, 2021, with two passengers on board.

His car was unregistered, and a further search by officers found 8.45g of cannabis and prescription medication in the car and a black leather bag.

When asked about the drug possession by police, Parker told officers he was “stressed” and “wanted to just chill out and get stoned”.

Scott Parker pleaded guilty to possession of a rifle and cannabis at Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on January 31, 2023. Picture: Kiel Egging

Parker’s defence lawyer said his client had used cannabis to mask anxiety and depression, and issues stemming from a “difficult” upbringing and his relationship with his parents, both of whom had died in the past five years.

When addressing the amounts of cannabis found, Parker’s defence lawyer said his client would often “buy in bulk as it was cheaper and smoke that over a matter of time with his partner”.

The court heard Parker, a former gardener, was working as a removalist and looking to move out of the area and establish his own business outside of Melbourne.

Parker told Magistrate Kirstie Grigor he was looking for a fresh start and was “trying to be away from everyone” following other incidents, claiming another person had recently poisoned his dog.

His defence lawyer said a conviction would be “a hindrance for his recovery” and starting the business.

But Ringwood prosecutor Senior Constable Trace pushed for Parker to be heavily penalised for his offences, saying a fine “would not suit community expectations”.

Sen-Constable Trace said a well-publicised gun amnesty had been in place, and Parker had “plenty of opportunities to hand that in if he found it at a previous house”, and made “a conscious decision to bring it with him”.

In her sentencing remarks, Ms Grigor noted Parker had pleaded guilty to four drug charges and much more serious offences of possession of an unregistered firearm and storing a firearm in an insecure matter.

She noted he only had two priors, the most recent in 2005.

She said Parker had been engaged in heavy drug use for the past five years particularly in relation to cannabis, which he started using at 13.

Ms Grigor said the charges of most concern were the firearm offences, but did not conclude Parker’s possession of the firearm was for a criminal purpose.

She said Parker had exercised very poor judgment in retaining the firearm and was now paying the price for that decision.

In deciding to not record a conviction, she noted the submission from Parker’s defence lawyer, and took into account the circumstances of the case and the impact of recording a conviction on Parker’s economic and social wellbeing and employment prospects.

Ms Grigor told Parker she didn’t want to see him back before the court.

She said any future matters would be viewed “most seriously” given he now had firearms and drugs in his priors.