By Danielle Kutchel
A toy gun being carried through Melbourne that scared civilians and led to police being called was intended as a gift, a court has heard.
Abraham Konyise, from Dandenong North, was found carrying the imitation weapon late last year.
On December 21 2018 at 4:40pm, police received a number of 000 calls relating to a man with a firearm heading into the Melbourne CBD.
Fifteen minutes later police found him walking along Olympic Boulevard carrying what looked to be a 60cm black long arm assault rifle.
The police drew their weapons and told the accused to drop his own.
After Konyise’s arrest they found that he smelt of alcohol and was unsteady on his feet, and a search revealed that the firearm was a toy imitation. He was also found to be carrying nitrous oxide and alcohol.
Konyise allegedly told police the toy was a present for his cousin.
He appeared in Dandenong Magistrates Court on Tuesday 27 August after being arrested at 11:08 that morning.
The accused was found boarding the 901 bus at Zenith Road and Frankston-Dandenong Road without a valid ticket.
Konyise told authorities at the time that he had lost his wallet and had no valid ticket, and was travelling to play the pokies in Dandenong.
He was arrested, searched and taken to Dandenong Police Station. Police found outstanding warrants for his arrest.
A lawyer for Konyise told the court the 28-year-old was living in Dandenong North with his cousins and came to Australia as a refugee from South Sudan in 2006.
He is a qualified mechanic but has not worked for a few years, the court heard, relying on the kindness of The Salvation Army to get by as he was no longer receiving Newstart.
Konyise has also been diagnosed with depression, had taken responsibility for his crimes and was happy to comply with the conditions of a community corrections order, the lawyer told the court.
Magistrate Pauline Spencer was satisfied Konyise was keeping himself out of trouble for the most part, but acknowledged that the toy gun incident was serious given police and civilians didn’t know it was a fake.
Konyise was placed on a 12 month good behaviour bond, conditional on his attending Afri-Aus Care to help him obtain an income and work.
