A MOONBI man has been found guilty of stealing four firearms and ammunition, after a court heard investigators found his DNA on a crowbar used to break into a rural shed.
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Russell John Barnett appeared in Tamworth Local Court last week for a hearing after pleading not guilty to charges of larceny and entering a building with intent to commit an indictable offence, stemming from a break-in in 2014.
The offences occurred between 3pm and 8.56pm on July 7, 2014, at a property on Betts Ln, Moonbi.
Police were alerted to the theft after a single-barrel 410 shotgun, Bruno .22-calibre rifle, J/W 22-calibre rifle, Norinco .177-calibre rifle and assorted ammunition were stolen from a shed.
A crime scene was set up and examined by forensic services, which seized several items at the scene for analysis, including a glasses case and a crowbar, which police believed was used to gain entry to the shed.
Police charged Barnett with the offences after his DNA was discovered on both items, linking him to the offences. Barnett denied the charges, but Magistrate Roger Prowse, during a hearing in court late last week, found the offences proven.
The 27-year-old also pleaded guilty to other offences, including intimidating an off-duty Corrective Services officer and a woman on the New England Highway on February 16 last year.
According to facts tendered to the court, Barnett was in a vehicle when he leaned out of the car and pointed his right arm directly at the victim.
“The right index finger and middle finger, together with the right thumb, of the accused was cocked like he was firing a pistol at the victim,” facts stated.
“The victim continued to drive and felt intimidated, as he believed the accused would have fired a shot at him and (the second victim) if he was in possession of a firearm.”
Barnett has been behind bars since October last year, when he was refused bail at a show-cause hearing in Tamworth.
Magistrate Prowse ordered authorities to compile a full background report into Barnett, who will be sentenced in March.