Jake Bleimuth, an unemployed man described by police as a heavy drug user, was driving his mother’s vehicle east on George Street in Warilla just before 3am on December 31 last year when patrolling police noticed the vehicle and conducted a series of checks on it.

Upon discovering it had a prior police system warning for possible firearm activity, officers pulled the vehicle over and spoke to Bleimuth, the sole occupant.

Officers then searched the car, locating a red plastic case in the centre console which contained ice, MDMA, a small glass pipe and a packet of small resealable bags.

When asked if there was anything else in the vehicle he wished to declare, Bleimuth admitted there was a gun in the boot. Officers promptly seized a shortened .22 calibre bolt action rifle, along with ammunition.

A second gun, described as an air pistol, was found in separate bag inside the boot.

Police checks revealed Bleimuth was not licensed to own or possess either firearm.

Bleimuth was taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station where the seized drugs were weighed and admitted into evidence. 

Police searched Bleimuth’s Osborne Street home later that morning, uncovering more bullets in a safe inside his bedroom.

Bleimuth was charged with multiple drug and firearm charges, to which he pleaded guilty in Wollongong Local Court last week.

In police documents tendered to the court, arresting officers said they held fears for the safety of the community as it appeared Bleimuth was “capable of building home made firearms”.

“These weapons combined with [Bleimuth’s] habitual drug use put the community at an unacceptable risk of seirous harm,” they wrote.

Bleimuth was remanded in custody to face sentencing next month.