A man will appear in court today after being found in possession of an unregistered firearm yesterday.
About 2.20pm on Thursday 27 February 2020, a 21-year-old was walking south along the Pacific Highway, Belmont, when passing police allegedly noticed a man in possession of what was believed to be a pistol.
Officers approached the man where he resisted arrest for a short time.
He was arrested shortly after before police searched the man and located a pistol.
Following an inspection of the weapon, it was determined to be a modified gel blaster.
The man was taken to Belmont Police Station and charged with possess unregistered firearm in public place, possess unregistered prohibited firearm and resist arrest.
He was refused bail to face Belmont Local Court today (Friday 28 February 2020).
Lake Macquarie Commander, Superintendent Danny Sullivan APM, said police will always treat instances with imitation weapons as if they real firearms to ensure the safety of the community.
“Imitation firearms can often be hard to distinguish from the real deal, as they are modelled closely on real weapons.
“If a weapon looks real, officers will treat it as authentic until such a time that the weapon can be analysed – public safety will always come first,” Supt Sullivan said.
