Prison sentence over threat with stolen gun

A TASMANIAN man who has spent much of his adult life in custody is back behind bars for another 12 months after being found guilty of threatening to shoot a person he believed should pay for a broken television.

Darren James McCall has been convicted of aggravated assault and possessing a stolen firearm.

The Supreme Court in Burnie heard that in October last year McCall drove to a former friend’s caravan and asked for money to fix the appliance.

When the man did not comply, McCall grabbed a sawn-off shotgun from his car.

The shotgun was later found to have been stolen from the Launceston area in 2003.

Justice Robert Pearce said McCall pointed the gun at the man demanding money and threatened to return later and shoot him if he did not hand over the cash. McCall is now 30 and has spent long periods of his adult life behind bars.

Justice Pearce said McCall had abused illicit drugs for many years.

“He claims at 30 that he has decided to turn his life around. Time will tell if that Justice Pearce said.

He said while there was no evidence the shotgun was loaded, the man who was threatened with it had no way of knowing its status.

“The possession of a stolen firearm in a serious matter. There is a link between stolen weapons and further crimes of dishonesty and violent crimes.

“There is no innocent reason to have a gun of this nature,” Justice Pearce said.

McCall was sentenced to 12 months in prison, backdated to July 4. He will be eligible for parole after eight months. is true,”