Bruce in West Oz
October 27, 2003, 11:00 PM
Given Australia's gun laws, and the generally anti-firearm judiciary, this bloke should buy a Lotto ticket, 'cause it's his lucky week for sure!
The Advertiser
Find a new hobby or risk going to jail
By Court Reporter SEAN FEWSTER
28oct03
WHEN police raided the home of Richard Zolton Berekmeri and found a
cache of high-powered weapons and explosives, they believed they had
found an armoury for outlaw motorcycle gangs.
But yesterday the Adelaide Magistrates Court found there was "nothing
nefarious" about Berekmeri's deadly weapons.
Magistrate Gary Gumpl sentenced the 50-year-old, of Mile End, to 18
months' jail for 14 firearms breaches including possession of gun parts,
silencers and prohibited explosives -- all part of his weapons and
military memorabilia collection.
He suspended that sentence on condition of a three-year $100 good
behaviour bond and warned Berekmeri to find a new, legal hobby or risk
jail.
This is not a case of a person nefariously building a cache of weapons
for illegal purposes," Mr Gumpl said. "(But) you must know that you can
no longer afford to indulge the illegal aspects of your hobby and avoid
immediate imprisonment in the future."
Mr Gumpl said officers from the anti-bikie taskforce Operation Avatar
had raided Berekmeri's home and a factory he leased in Daw Park last
October.
The weapons they seized included a homemade 9mm machinegun, a Smith and
Wesson .38 calibre revolver, a Ruger .22 calibre semi-automatic rifle
and a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun.
They also found Pentaerythrite Tetranitrate, a military-grade explosive
which has a concussive force almost equal to nitroglycerine.
"It concerns me, as it does prosecution, that along with the guns
(Berekmeri) was also in possession of explosives," Mr Gumpl said.
"(But) these are not the type of explosives commonly used in what we
have come to refer to as `terrorist attacks'."
Berekmeri's counsel said he was a collector of antique weaponry and an
experienced gunsmith who built fully-operational copies of any weapons
he could not buy.
"I am not permitted to speculate what the defendant may have done with
the weapons he possessed, I am limited to the facts presented," Mr Gumpl
said. "There is no evidence or suggestion that he has sold any of the
weapons or made any available to any other person or organisation."
He said Berekmeri's interest in firearms was "no secret" and he openly
talked about his collection while caring for war veterans and widows as
a registered nurse at the Repatriation General Hospital.
"It is clear from the references (of friends and employers) that the
defendant is a careful and safe user of firearms . . . a number of items
of memorabilia, not seized by the police, indicate he has been a genuine
collector," he said.
Mr Gumpl also banned Berekmeri from holding or obtaining a firearm's
licence "until (a) further order" was made.
http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,7687113%255E2682,00.html
The Advertiser
Find a new hobby or risk going to jail
By Court Reporter SEAN FEWSTER
28oct03
WHEN police raided the home of Richard Zolton Berekmeri and found a
cache of high-powered weapons and explosives, they believed they had
found an armoury for outlaw motorcycle gangs.
But yesterday the Adelaide Magistrates Court found there was "nothing
nefarious" about Berekmeri's deadly weapons.
Magistrate Gary Gumpl sentenced the 50-year-old, of Mile End, to 18
months' jail for 14 firearms breaches including possession of gun parts,
silencers and prohibited explosives -- all part of his weapons and
military memorabilia collection.
He suspended that sentence on condition of a three-year $100 good
behaviour bond and warned Berekmeri to find a new, legal hobby or risk
jail.
This is not a case of a person nefariously building a cache of weapons
for illegal purposes," Mr Gumpl said. "(But) you must know that you can
no longer afford to indulge the illegal aspects of your hobby and avoid
immediate imprisonment in the future."
Mr Gumpl said officers from the anti-bikie taskforce Operation Avatar
had raided Berekmeri's home and a factory he leased in Daw Park last
October.
The weapons they seized included a homemade 9mm machinegun, a Smith and
Wesson .38 calibre revolver, a Ruger .22 calibre semi-automatic rifle
and a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun.
They also found Pentaerythrite Tetranitrate, a military-grade explosive
which has a concussive force almost equal to nitroglycerine.
"It concerns me, as it does prosecution, that along with the guns
(Berekmeri) was also in possession of explosives," Mr Gumpl said.
"(But) these are not the type of explosives commonly used in what we
have come to refer to as `terrorist attacks'."
Berekmeri's counsel said he was a collector of antique weaponry and an
experienced gunsmith who built fully-operational copies of any weapons
he could not buy.
"I am not permitted to speculate what the defendant may have done with
the weapons he possessed, I am limited to the facts presented," Mr Gumpl
said. "There is no evidence or suggestion that he has sold any of the
weapons or made any available to any other person or organisation."
He said Berekmeri's interest in firearms was "no secret" and he openly
talked about his collection while caring for war veterans and widows as
a registered nurse at the Repatriation General Hospital.
"It is clear from the references (of friends and employers) that the
defendant is a careful and safe user of firearms . . . a number of items
of memorabilia, not seized by the police, indicate he has been a genuine
collector," he said.
Mr Gumpl also banned Berekmeri from holding or obtaining a firearm's
licence "until (a) further order" was made.
http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,7687113%255E2682,00.html