A 30-year-old man who took a loaded handgun to confront a man he believed had stolen from a mine he had invested in has been jailed.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Benjamin Schreuder on Tuesday faced County Court Judge, Mark Gamble, who sentenced him to a year behind bars to be followed by a two year community corrections order with conditions to complete 350 hours of unpaid community work.
Judge Gamble said Schreuder's "extremely serious" conduct, which saw him take the handgun to a rival mine in Daylesford and confront the manager about a number of alleged thefts and arson attacks, warranted imprisonment.
"This was far from a spur of the moment offence ... you had ample time to reflect on the seriousness of what you were to do," he told Schreuder.
"This is extremely serious conduct and is deserving of strong condemnation."
Schreuder and co-accused, Shane Buckley, drove to the mine on July 20, 2015 where they first confronted a woman who was working there at the time.
The court heard Schreuder grabbed the woman around the neck and held the handgun to her head while demanding to know where any weapons were located.
A short while later the men confronted the manager of the mine and asked about the items alleged to have been stolen from the nearby mine he had invested in and had been hidden somewhere on the property.
Buckley, who was on a partially suspended sentence at the time, was carrying an extended baton.
Despite searching the property no stolen items were found.
Schreuder’s barrister, Heath Barclay, told the court the mine his client had invested in was subject to arson and thefts which he was led to believe the manager of the other mine was involved in.
Mr Barclay said Schreuder’s primary purpose of going to the mine was to see if he could find any stolen goods, and only went armed because he had been given the gun by the owner of the mine he had invested in and told they may be armed.
Schreuder and Buckley, who had no connection to the mine, were friends.
During sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Gamble told Buckley his actions in assisting Schreuder on the day were "foolish and stupid".
"It appeared you have acted out of a misguided sense of loyalty to your friend Mr Schreuder," he said.
Buckly, who pleaded guilty to intentionally assisting/ encouraging Schreuder to steal a phone and assault the mine's manager, as well unlawful assault, was sentenced to nine months' jail.
Schreuder pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, two counts of common law assault, theft, possession of an unregistered handgun and unlawful assault.
Judge Gamble said the actions of both men must be condemned, with the sentences handed down expected to act as a deterrent for others thinking of engaging in similar criminal conduct.
Judge Gamble said the individual roles of each men played a role in the different sentences handed down on Tuesday.
He told the court he accepted Schreuder felt distressed about the thefts, and while it did not excuse the behaviour, it provided an explanation and answered any questions about moral culpability.
He said he also took into account Schreuder's good character and the unlikelihood he would ever re-offend.
As for Buckley, Judge Gamble said while his involvement was less, it was aggravated by the fact he was on a suspended sentenced.
But he also added there was not doubt the victims were placed in great fear and that also needed to be weighed up.
If not for a plea of guilty, Judge Gamble told Schreuder he would be looking at 3.5 years behind bars, while Buckley would have received an additional 11 months on top of his current sentence.
Shane Buckley will serve an additional three months' jail for breaching a suspended sentence.
The three-month sentence was imposed on top of the nine month jail sentence handed down in the County Court this morning.
The breach, which Buckley pleaded guilty to, was heard in the Ballarat Magistrates' Court.
Buckley breached the suspended sentence with his involvement in the incident at a Daylesford mine in July 2015, six months after he was originally sentenced on a number of other matters - in the original sentence Buckley served four months of a seven month sentence, with the final three months suspended for 12 months.