Paul Michael Hobley sentenced for weapon and drug offences

A West Woombye man found to have created his own “medieval mace” has appeared in a Sunshine Coast courtroom charged with a string of weapon and drugs offences.

Paul Michael Hobley leaves the Maroochydore Courthouse on June 20, 2023.

A Sunshine Coast man charged over multiple drug and weapon offences, including possessing a homemade mace, has faced court.

Paul Michael Hobley 43 appeared in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Tuesday, June 20 where he pleaded guilty to 18 charges involving producing and possessing drugs as well as a range of weapons on his West Woombye property.

Maroochydore Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist told the court a search warrant carried out by police unearthed rifles, a mace, a shortened firearm and a crossbow on March 23, 2023.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable David Hoffman told the court the most serious of the offences were the producing and possessing cannabis charges.

Defence barrister Martin Longhurst told the court the weapons found on Hobley’s West Woombye property were not related to the drug offences, rather they were family heirlooms.

“The weapons themselves are possessed completely removed from the cannabis, he is not a drug dealer, he is not there protecting his crop or anything like that,” Mr Longhurst said.

“There is a reference from his mother who gives a detailed antecedence of my client (Hobley), indeed there is family farms through both her brother and his now deceased brother, that side of the family always had farms and these guns were inherited after his grandfather died and he has maintained possession of them.”

Mr Longhurst told the court Hobley’s skills as a sheet metal worker had led him to creating the mace, which he described as being “very ornate”, after finding a YouTube tutorial.

“With respect to the mace, this isn’t the pepper spray mace this is literally a medieval mace,” Mr Longhurst said.

“He is a very skilled sheet metal worker and when he is learning the fine arts the tin rolling is very, very fine aluminium and they are encouraged to make these complex designs, obviously they are not encouraged to make illegal weapons.”

Mr Longhurst said a recent relationship breakdown between Hobley and his former partner had led to the drug use and production of cannabis oil from his property for personal use.

Magistrate Stjernqvist told the court it “took a little while to get my head around that (the mace)” and sentenced Hobley to a 12-month prison sentence to be suspended for 12 months.

Originally published as Paul Michael Hobley sentenced for weapon and drug offences