When police knocked on his door looking for a mate of his, he panicked and hid a pistol he owned in a kitchen cupboard.
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Stefan Anatoli Kolisnyk bought the gun online, but even though it was an imitation weapon he knew anyone who saw the water pellet gun would believe it was real.
That was exacerbated by the pistol having been painted black by someone; he thought that might have been done by his seven-year-old, though really did not know.
Kolisnyk, 33, pleaded guilty in Albury Local Court this week to a single charge of possess an unauthorised pistol.
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In sentencing Kolisnyk, magistrate Rodney Brender said the offence carried a maximum jail term of 14 years "and it does include imitation pistols".
"I do accept this was an inadvertent offence because you thought it might not fit into this category," he said.
"I'm not assuming that he got it because he's going to get involved in the drug world."
The court was told that police went to Kolisnyk's Lavington home on October 31 about 12.30pm because they were looking for a mate of his who had been involved in a traffic incident that day.
They spoke to Kolisnyk, who said the man had been there earlier but had left.
He gave the police permission to search the house.
Kolisnyk then revealed to the officers, who did not find the other man, that he owned a water pellet gun.
He put the gun in the cupboard when he saw them on CCTV at his front door.
Kolisnyk was convicted and fined $500 and placed on a 12-month community corrections order.
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