A magistrate has expressed grave concern at a man shown pointing a shortened rifle barrel at another man's head in a photograph.
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This and other photos were discovered on being downloaded by police, who had seized the phone over an unrelated matter.
A video also uncovered clearly showed Tumut man Kieran Rhys Back "move the bolt action back and forth by pulling the trigger on the firearm, causing the firing pin to deploy".
Albury Local Court magistrate Melissa Humphreys, who handed Back an 18-month jail term, highlighted this fact during his sentence hearing.
"In one (of the photographs) he appears to have his finger on the trigger while he is pointing at the other person's temple," she said.
The other man was an associate of Back, who appeared in court via a video link to Junee jail.
Back, 24, of Dalhunty Street, pleaded guilty to possessing a shortened firearm without authority, possess an unregistered prohibited firearm and possess a prohibited drug.
Defence lawyer Hannah Straughan submitted that while her client appeared to be pointing the barrel in the other man's direction, because Back was clearly standing in front it could not be concluded the weapon was indeed aimed at his temple.
Mr Straughan said Back was still a young man, one who had experienced trauma during adolescence that continued to plague him in his adult life.
That trauma, she said, stemmed from a significant amount of abuse "suffered by a very young child" in juvenile detention.
Out of that, Back developed an addiction to illicit drugs that he had struggled with "for the rest of his lifetime".
Ms Straughan argued that this reduced Back's moral culpability over the drug matter - police had found him in possession of 0.5 grams of methamphetamine.
She said that as a child, Back witnessed constant alcohol and drug misuse in the family home.
Further, she submitted that the firearms offences were not "significant examples" of such crimes as the police facts of the case made clear Back's possession of the gun was not "anything more than temporary".
But prosecutor Sergeant Andrew Coombs said these facts made no references to the weapon, which wasn't loaded, as not capable of being fired.
Sergeant Coombs said the offending warranted a jail term "given the serious nature of the firearm that is being possessed".
Ms Humphreys referred to a report prepared by consultant neuropsychiatrist Professor Mark Walterfang that she said found Back to be someone "the court should find has a number of mental health concerns following significant trauma suffered by the offender whilst in the care of the state".
These issues, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, for which he was medicated, were long-lasting.
Police told the court that Back had never held a firearms licence in NSW or anywhere else in Australia.
They seized the mobile phone on September 15 during an unrelated investigation, with an examination of the downloaded photographs and video showing Back "in possession of a shortened firearm".
The gun was later identified as a .22-calibre Savage Arms Mark II Series.
Back is depicted in the video - in a paddock at an unknown location - holding the same shortened rifle, with a silver barrel. The photographs and video were taken two days earlier, about 7.40pm.
Police then went to the Royal Hotel Motel in Tumut on September 29 about 9pm.
They saw Back and followed him to room four, and he was arrested when he came out again at 10.30pm.
When asked if he was carrying any drugs, Back said he had a bag containing "ice" in the right pocket of his track pants.
"Nah," he said when questioned about whether he'd use the drug, "I was going to light up a pipe before you came."
Ms Humphreys noted how Back's offending took place "within days" of completing a period on parole.
She imposed a non-parole period of nine months, making Back eligible for release on June 26, 2024.
