A MAN who was jailed today for having prohibited weapons in his car will appeal a one month prison sentence.
Paul Carter, 48, appeared in Ballarat Magistrates Court this morning, pleading guilty to possessing prohibited weapons without exemption.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Michelle Kilburn told the court that Carter had travelled to Bacchus Marsh from his home in St Arnaud on March 28, 2012, to settle a dispute over an argument on Facebook.
Police were called to the verbal altercation, where they searched Carter's car.
There, police found a baseball bat, a bail hook, an imitation handgun and a balaclava.
Defence lawyer Scott Belcher said his client had valid reasons for carrying each of the individual items, but conceded it was not wise to have them all in his car.
He said the baseball bat was a present and the balaclava was used by his client in the cold weather during winter.
"He knows if he takes car trips in the future he can't be taking imitation firearms, bail hooks and balaclavas," Mr Belcher said.
"He might be a little bit wiser because of this."
Magistrate Michelle Hodgson said travelling a long distance with such items in the car to settle a Facebook dispute was a concern.
"At a combination these items cause the court grave concern," Ms Hodgson said.
She sentence him to one month jail, to be served immediately.
Carter was released on appeal bail and will appear in the County Court at a later date.