Law abiding firearms owners are always suffering due to the actions of criminals and this time its in the form of a former Queensland Police property officer.
Theformer property officer for the Queensland Police Service (QPS) has been sentenced to two years in prison — but will be released immediately on parole — for stealing seized guns and ammunition, which were only discovered after he accidentally shot himself in the hand.
The District Court in Brisbane heard Craig Robert Everett, 34, had a “passion for collecting guns” when he began pocketing seized weapons from a QPS exhibits facility between 2012 and 2018, while working as an administrative property officer.
Everett pleaded guilty to one count of stealing a quantity of firearms and ammunition as a public service employee.
The court heard the stash of weapons was uncovered when Everett accidentally shot himself in his garage while home alone in March, 2018.
The weapons seized included six pistols, an assault rifle, automatic machine gun barrels, ammunition, capsicum spray, tear gas and flick knives.
Crown prosecutor Ron Swanwick said after retrieving a camouflaged Glock from a ceiling cavity to carry out checks on the
weapon, he did not realise it was loaded and shot himself in the hand.
The court heard he quickly returned the gun to the ceiling, but his injury left pools of blood on the garage floor and on the manhole cover.
After administering first aid to himself, Everett called triple-0. Police later searched his home and unearthed 42 items stashed in the roof cavity.
The court heard Everett lied to paramedics and initially blamed the injury on an angle grinder, before later telling police he had dropped a loaded rifle that he owned.
Everett eventually made a full confession.
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