Long Nguyen jailed for throwing loaded pistol into garden of Beverly Hills restaurant
A Punchbowl man has been jailed after he threw a loaded gun into a garden bed outside a popular restaurant while he tried to run from police in Sydney’s south.
NSW
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A Punchbowl man has been jailed after he threw a loaded gun into a garden bed outside a popular restaurant while he tried to run from police.
Long Nguyen was sentenced in Sutherland Local Court after he pleaded guilty to possessing an unregistered pistol in a public place, possessing a loaded firearm and possessing prohibited drug.
Agreed facts tendered to court said police stopped a black Hyundai car in Dumbleton Lane, Beverly Hills about 11.50pm on October 6 last year.
Nguyen exited the driver’s side on Stoney Creek Rd and ran along King Georges Rd where he discarded a loaded high-standard supermatic pistol in the bushes outside Pancakes of the Rocks.
He kept running but was arrested a short time later outside of a business called Hot Pot.
Nguyen told police he had a bag of cocaine in his wallet, which was found inside the car.
Police retraced the route taken by Nguyen where they located the firearm in the garden bed.
The gun was rendered safe and was found with nine .22 calibre rounds of ammunition with one round in the chamber.
Nguyen’s DNA was located on the grip, trigger and slide of the firearm and he did not have a firearms licence.
Checks of the gun determined the registered owner passed away in 2013 and it was never handed into police or deregistered, documents said.
The court heard Nguyen had an extensive criminal record and was on parole at the time he had the gun.
He was previously imprisoned for disqualified and possessing prohibited drugs.
He was also jailed for reckless wounding in company and assault occasioning actual bodily harm; and he repeatedly reoffended with having drugs while on parole.
The court heard last year, Nguyen had two institutional misconduct findings, with one for fighting while he has been in custody.
The court heard Nguyen had used cannabis and methamphetamine for many years and was born in Vietnam before he moved to Australia aged 11.
Nguyen’s lawyer said her client was in a relationship and had previously worked as a cleaner.
She submitted Nguyen was at risk of being institutionalised and found it hard to adjust to life in the community.
Magistrate Philip Stewart said ”the risk to the community by the offender being in possession of a loaded pistol in a public is obvious”.
“That risk continued after he dumped the firearm in a garden bed outside a restaurant.
“Fortunately the restaurant was likely to have been closed given the time of night, and police had the sense to retrace the route taken by the offender when being pursued on foot, thus locating the pistol.”
Mr Stewart said Nguyen had poor prospects of rehabilitation because of his history of violence, long standing drug addiction and pattern of committing further offences while on parole.
Nguyen was sentenced to three years in jail, backdated to December 29 2023. He will be eligible for parole in December 2025.
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