An 18-year-old man has been fined $800 after he was caught in possession of a black plastic toy gun in a shopping centre.
The man pleaded guilty to being armed or pretending to be armed in a way that may cause fear in the Mandurah Magistrates Court on Friday.
Police prosecutor Sean Discomb told the court a man reported the accused carrying a “weapon” on December 17, 2018.
The witness was sat in a parked vehicle in the Woolworths car park in Greenfields when the accused walked past the vehicle and lifted his shirt to expose a black firearm tucked into his pants.
The witness immediately called police, who located the man standing outside the shopping centre.
He made full admissions to possessing the toy gun and took police to where it was located, under the front passenger seat of his friend’s car.
The man’s lawyer said the weapon was a toy gel blaster and was never removed from his pants or brandished.
“He didn’t mean to cause fear,” she said.
“He lifted his top up to scratch … it was visible for a couple of seconds.
“He does accept the person would’ve likely been concerned.”
She asked Magistrate Anne Longden to consider a spent conviction due to her client’s lack of juvenile or adult record.
Ms Longden said she was “dubious” about some of the explanation but granted the spent conviction.
“You and your mates were maybe being idiots and you were showing off,” she said.
“It was a seriously stupid thing to do.
“You’ve got everything going for you … this will just be a strange blip in your history.”
The man was granted a spent conviction, fined $800 and ordered to pay $205.30 in court costs.
