REGINA v ANGELO ZEPIDIS [2020] NSWDC 105

REGINA v ANGELO ZEPIDIS [2020] NSWDC 105

The offender was in possession of multiple unauthorised and prohibited firearms in breach of the Firearms Act 1996 and Weapons Prohibition Act 1998, with accepted but only partially mitigating circumstances of duress and PTSD. The seriousness was assessed as below mid-range for the specific offences, with early guilty pleas and mental health factors taken into account, but the only appropriate sentence was full time imprisonment given the risks posed to the community.

Parties
Prosecutor: Director of Public Prosecutions; Offender: Angelo Zepidis
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
14 April 2020
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Sentence
Outcome
The offender is convicted and sentenced to an aggregate term of 4 ½ years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 2 ½ years, to commence from 9 November 2019, with the overall sentence (incorporating breach of the ICO) being 5 years 2 months with an overall non-parole period of 3 years 2 months.
Legal Topics
Possession of Unauthorised Firearms, Possession of Shortened Firearm, Firearms Prohibition Order, Weapons Prohibition Order, Duress
Criminal Law Possession of Unauthorised Firearms Possession of Shortened Firearm Firearms Prohibition Order Weapons Prohibition Order Duress

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Parties

Director of Public Prosecutions

Prosecutor

Angelo Zepidis

Offender

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Sentence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the offender was guilty of possessing unauthorised firearms and prohibited weapons
  2. 2 Whether duress was a mitigating factor
  3. 3 Assessment of the seriousness of the offending

Ratio Decidendi

The offender was in possession of multiple unauthorised and prohibited firearms in breach of the Firearms Act 1996 and Weapons Prohibition Act 1998, with accepted but only partially mitigating circumstances of duress and PTSD. The seriousness was assessed as below mid-range for the specific offences, with early guilty pleas and mental health factors taken into account, but the only appropriate sentence was full time imprisonment given the risks posed to the community.

Court Disposition

The offender is convicted and sentenced to an aggregate term of 4 ½ years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 2 ½ years, to commence from 9 November 2019, with the overall sentence (incorporating breach of the ICO) being 5 years 2 months with an overall non-parole period of 3 years 2 months.

Orders

  • The offender is convicted of the four offences.
  • An aggregate sentence of 4 ½ years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 2 ½ years is imposed from 9 November 2019.