A man who was shot with his own unregistered "heirloom" firearm at Bonshaw has been sent straight to prison, handcuffed in the court room in front of his partner and child.
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The "complex" circumstances leading up to the front-yard shooting saw 29-year-old Tyler Henriksen charged with five offences, two of which carry maximum prison terms of up to 10 years or more.
Appearing at Inverell Local Court in front of Magistrate Holly Kemp on Thursday, Henriksen was supported by two of his family members, who were wrapped in soft baby blankets to protect against the frigid six-degree cold.
Yet the wraps could do nothing against the court's final verdict, as an emotional Henriksen was escorted out.
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Charged with possessing an unregistered firearm, stalk and intimidate, carrying firearm in a manner likely to injure, possessing ammunition without a license and carrying a prohibited drug, magistrate Kemp said the offences were "just too serious" for anything but full time custody.
He took the law into his own hands... this is not the Wild West.
- Magistrate Holly Kemp
Henriksen's solicitor Sue Dakin had argued for his sentence to be served in the community, stating there had never been any problems with Henriksen following supervision orders in the past.
Police statements tendered to court said in August last year, Henriksen came across a man broken down by the side of the road - a man he believed to be responsible for an alleged break and enter into his shed.
Words were exchanged, and the situation "went down hill from there", Ms Dakin explained.
Henriksen had plead guilty to confronting the man - who the court heard had allegedly turned up at his home - with an unregistered gun, which was then wrestled away and fired.
Henriksen had to be airlifted to the Gold Coast Hospital with a bullet wound to his arm.
It was submitted the gun had been given to Henriksen as a gift, something of a family heirloom, and hadn't been used with violence before.
"The aggravating feature was that it was loaded," Ms Dakin said, however noted that the shooter had to cock it to injure Henriksen - that the weapon wasn't in a position to be fired straight away.
"While he knows how to use the weapon, he didn't give consideration to actually using it," she said.
Ms Dakin outlined Henriksen's comprehensive actions in turning his life around, after a criminal history - mostly in Queensland - littered with offending, drug use and some prior stints in prison.
A picture was painted of a man who had, since 2016, acknowledged the need to change, following through with various treatments for mental health, some of which were still ongoing.
Ms Dakin said reports from his treating psychiatrist detailed her client was "not reliant on drugs", however he did admit to police he had cannabis in his system at the time of the incident.
Sergeant Marieka Wilkins for the prosecution said it was an "alarming set of facts", detailing how Henriksen had deliberately driven as if to "run him down" before swerving at the last minute.
"In relation to possessing the gun... it is highly policed, and the penalties imposed reflects the seriousness," she said.
Magistrate Kemp called Henriksen's intimidating behavior "alarming and confronting".
"He took the law into his own hands... this is not the Wild West," she said.
"While Ms Dakin argued for a community based sentence, I'm not of the view community safety can be properly mitigated."
He was convicted of all charges and received an aggregate sentence of one year in full time custody. He will be eligible for parole on January 19.
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