Man had machete and pot

A WHITTINGTON father was caught with a machete in his home barely three months after facing court for separate weapons offences.

Beau Forehan, 27, was fined $500 in Geelong Magistrates’ Court yesterday after pleading guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon and possessing cannabis.

Police raided the home in which he lived with his parents on November 2 and uncovered a machete, along with a small amount of cannabis.

Forehan was fined $1500 in court in July last year after pleading guilty to a range of charges, including being in possession of two illegal samurai swords.

In September 2016, he was placed on a community corrections order after being found with a machete, Winchester gun, knuckleduster and ammunition rounds.

In response to the latest charges, defence lawyer Wendy Gibbons said the bricklayer was a recovering drug addict who was paranoid and concerned for his safety at the time of the raid.

“I’ve known him for some time now and it’s clear he’s had issues with drugs for a range of time,” Ms Gibbons said. “But he is now free of ice and what I would describe as other hardcore drugs.”

In sentencing, magistrate Peter Mellas said the machete in Forehan’s home was worrying.

“The presence of any weapon is concerning,” he said.