A man who says he kept a cache of firearms for bikies after they kidnapped and attacked him has been jailed for at least three years and two months.
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Angelo Zepidis, 31, pleaded guilty in the NSW District Court to a string of offences after police searched his mother's Ramsgate home in September 2018.
They found six firearms laid out neatly on top of a bed, and a crossbow with five bolts and ammunition - items he had "minded" for about six months.
The weapons included a shortened 12-gauge Remington model 870 Wingmaster pump-action repeating shotgun, 2-gauge SKB ARMS Model XL 900 self-loading shotgun, and a 12-gauge BOITO Model A-680 double-barrel shotgun.
Judge Nicole Noman on Tuesday jailed Zepidis for five years and two months with a non-parole period of three years and two months, a sentence that includes time for breaching an intensive corrections order.
Zepidis, who said he had an affiliation with an outlaw motorcycle gang, gave evidence that he was "in possession acting under duress".
In January 2018, he met up with gang members, when they drank alcohol and used cocaine.
He said he was sanctioned for apparently pretending to use the drug, then further sanctioned when he denied the claim.
"He was assaulted and lost consciousness," the judge said, citing Zepidis' evidence.
"He woke up tied to a chair. He had boiling water poured on him. He received facial injuries.
"Although he nominated the particular outlaw motorcycle gang, he declined to name the individuals responsible."
The judge accepted "on balance that this incident occurred".
Zepidi said he then received threats that necessitated him moving before gang members located him in Muswellbrook around March 2018.
At some stage, they left a stolen car containing the weapons and told him to mind them.
He moved some items for safekeeping while police found the car and other firearms.
He said he wanted to hand them in as part of the firearms amnesty, but was scared for himself and his family .
The judge found his prospects of rehabilitation and not reoffending were reasonable.
"General deterrence and denunciation are of significance in this type of offending," she said.
"There is a community safety issue in firearms being accessible in the community and accessible to those with no legitimate use of them.
"In fact, given the possession by the outlaw motorcycle gang, the risk is extreme."
Australian Associated Press
