A SHOTGUN that was pointed at a terrified young woman will be destroyed after the owner reluctantly admitted to the offence.
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Margot Olive Marshall had denied aiming the single-barrelled weapon at the victim, despite two witness statements stating she had.
The 70-year-old pensioner appeared before the Wodonga Magistrates Court on Monday, where she initially fought firearms and assault charges.
The victim had accidentally gone to Marshall’s home at Wooragee about 10pm on April 15.
She had been with two others in a vehicle.
A GPS had mistakenly taken them from Wodonga to Marshall’s property on Star Lane, instead of their intended destination of Beechworth.
The victim thought she would ask for directions, but Marshall armed herself with the gun and pointed the weapon at the woman’s stomach.
“Oh, sorry, we didn’t mean to scare you,” the victim told her.
She feared being shot, and Marshall continued to point the weapon at her at all times.
The group fled and police were later notified.
Marshall told police during an interview she had pointed the gun at the ground and denied it had been loaded.
Lawyer Graeme Bailey argued signage at the property meant the group were committing an offence by entering, with his client acting in self-defence.
“This entry was late at night … what she was doing, she felt she was doing in her own defence and that she was entitled to do so,” Mr Bailey said.
The 70-year-old had denied “in any way, shape or form” the gun had been aimed at the woman.
Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Wayne Taylor said from the moment it was clear the group was simply lost, “the firearm shouldn’t have been pointed anywhere near her”.
“They openly admitted they were lost .. they were looking for help,” he said.
Two witness statements clearly stated the gun was aimed at the woman.
Magistrate Stella Stuthridge said she would consider putting Marshall on a good behaviour bond if she pleaded guilty to the charges.
After speaking to her lawyer, the 70-year-old accepted the offer.
The gun will be destroyed and Marshall will be on the bond for a year.
Ms Stuthridge did not record a conviction and noted it was the first time she had been in trouble with the law.