Mum says she had no idea how bullet got in her pocket

A NORLANE mum, found with a bullet in her pocket while trying to enter Geelong Law Courts, claimed it may have been a keepsake be- longing to one of her children.

Tanya Sweeney, 47, of Rose Ave, pleaded guilty yesterday to a single charge of possessing ammunition without a licence.

Police Prosecutor Sgt Glenn Abbott said that at about 4.15pm on October 16 last year, Sweeney was attempting to enter the court through security when the alarm was activated.

“She was instructed to empty her pockets and among a few handfuls of loose coins, security officers found a bul- let,” Sgt Abbott said. “Sweeney was interviewed by police and charged.”

Sweeney, who has a similar prior from 2007, told the court she had no idea how the bullet came to be in her pocket.

She said she grabbed a handful of coins from a money jar at home before coming to court that day.

“The bullet must have been in the jar,” she said.

When asked by Magistrate Ann McGarvie why a bullet would be in a money jar, Sweeney said she had no idea.

“I’ve got young children and I can only imagine they have kept it as a souvenir,” she said. “I really have no idea.” Sweeney was convicted and fined $500.