Semi-automatic gun still missing after Benalla break-in

Benalla man Bradley Waters targeted a fence contracting business on Arundel Street on August 5 or 6 last year.

The unregistered semi-automatic .22 rifle and an air rifle were taken, along with a huge haul of tools worth at least $4000.

The air rifle was recovered but Waters refused to give details to police about the other weapon.

The 21-year-old also stole a Royal Enfield motorbike and compound bow from a Waller Street home on August 27 or 28.

He arranged to meet a person at Churchill Reserve to sell the $15,000 bike for a $200 down payment, and expected more money later.

The tools were sold for $1500 and three points of ice.

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Waters was arrested at a Benalla home on September 8 and a check of his phone showed photographs of the stolen goods, including the guns.

The County Court on Tuesday heard he had been doing the "dirty work" of others to fuel his rampant ice addiction.

His brother introduced him to marijuana, heroin and ice between the ages of 12 and 14 and Waters was using two grams of meth a day after his partner left him for his step-brother in 2019.

Judge Gabriele Cannon urged Walters to avoid returning to Benalla due to bad influences and ordered his release, having served 251 days, on a corrections order.

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