Jamie Roland Cullen sentenced in Toowoomba Magistrates Court for unlawful possession of a firearm in public

A man with a long history of mental illness, drug use and weapons offences was caught with a loaded firearm in the heart of Toowoomba’s CBD.

Jamie Cullen has been jailed after he was caught by police with a loaded 3D-printed gun in the Toowoomba CBD.

A man with a long history of mental illness and weapons offences has been jailed after he was caught in the CBD with a loaded, 3D-printed firearm.

Jamie Roland Cullen, 28, was tracked by police through downtown Toowoomba on June 5, 2024 as he was wanted on an arrest warrant.

He was intercepted in a taxi about 2.30pm, where police found a loaded, homemade firearm in a bag.

The matter was one of 20 offences Cullen pleaded guilty to in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Tuesday, including unlawful possession of a category H weapon, and entering a premises with intent.

The court was told that on May 13, 2024 Cullen used a star picket in an attempt to jimmy open the door of a Newtown home.

When he failed to open the door, Cullen broke it, reached through and unlocked it from the inside, the court was told.

Witnesses reported the daylight offending to police, who arrested Cullen a short time later.

The court was told upon his arrest, Cullen told police there were homeless people at the Newtown home and he was looking for someone to fight.

Defence solicitor Michael Corbin told the court his client had a troubled upbringing and dropped out of school after year 9.

He added that Cullen had the support of the mother of his eight-year-old child and wanted to get his life in order so he could be a better role model.

Cullen appeared by video link for Borallon Correctional Centre and interjected during his sentencing to tell magistrate Kyna Morice that he was serious about staying out of trouble.

This included receiving injections to stave off drug cravings and taking medication to keep his schizophrenia in check.

“You have history of possessing knives in public, of enter properties, of drugs and offences of dishonesty,” Ms Morice

“It is not that case that any of these matters before the court are new offences for you”

“You were breaking property to get into premises or carrying weapons in a public place is concerning in and of itself, left alone when you are involved in drug offending.”

Ms Morice took into account the 328 days Cullen had served in pre-sentence custody.

She ordered an 18-months jail sentence and set a parole release date of June 4, 2025, noting that unlawful possession of a short firearm in public came with a mandatory minimum of 12 months in jail.