Tyson James May, 28, of Shepparton, unsuccessfully applied for bail in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court.
He is charged with using a firearm in a dangerous manner, two counts of possessing a firearm while a prohibited person, criminal damage by arson, possessing a drug of dependence and failing to comply with an order to access a data storage device.
The court heard Mr May and his co-accused were arrested on December 10, 2024, in Benalla.
A police officer told the court police found two separate videos from 2.30am on December 5 on the other man’s phone depicting Mr May shooting a firearm that appeared to be a .22 calibre rifle on a public road next to a vehicle.
Also on the phone was a video of Mr May driving while a passenger was shooting a .22 calibre rifle from the rear window while the vehicle was driving at 6.35am on the same day, the police officer said.
The court was told that a firearm prohibition order, lasting 10 years, had been served on Mr May on September 29, 2021.
Yet another video on the phone from December 6, 2024 depicted a white ute attempting to pull another tray-back white ute from a bogged shoulder of the road at 11.07pm, while another video 16 minutes later showed the tray-back ute on fire with Mr May fuelling the flames, the police officer said.
Police were notified by the fire brigade about a ute fire at Goomalibee at 11.50pm that night that firefighters believed was deliberately lit.
The court heard police found a modified gun in the backyard of another person’s Shepparton house on December 10 during a search.
The gun appeared to be the same as the one in the videos as it was “very distinct in patterns”, the police officer said.
When seized by police, the gun did not have a scope on it.
The following morning, police found a firearm scope at Goomalibee Rd in Benalla.
When he was arrested, Mr May had two tablets of Viagra on him without a prescription.
The police officer told the court Mr May was “an extremely unacceptable risk”.
She said he had a “deplorable history with firearms”, including threatening a woman in June 2020 and being in possession of a gun in June 2021.
Mr May’s solicitor, Anthony Coote, said his client had an intellectual disability and was also having scans of a cyst every six months after he received a head injury in an assault.
Mr Coote said Mr May also had support available through the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
No pleas have been entered to any of the charges.
Magistrate Amina Bhai refused Mr May bail, saying the charges were serious and the prosecution’s case was not a weak one.
She also said Mr May had consistently failed to comply with court orders.
“I consider there is a significant risk he will repeat offending,” she said.
“There is a clear risk.
“I have no confidence he would comply with bail conditions.”
Mr May will next come before the court in March.
