Joel Bill allegedly fled down a trap door to hide under his house on Wednesday morning, all in a bid to avoid officers who showed up for a routine weapon check, a court has heard.
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But police will allege the 32-year-old forgot to conceal one thing - the black extendable baton left out in the lounge room.
Bill appeared before Wollongong Local Court following his arrest this morning.
The Barrack Heights resident, who has been subject to a weapons and firearms prohibition order since 2019, was home when police arrived for a compliance check just before 9am.
Police were greeted at the door by a woman Bill is prohibited from contacting by way of an apprehended violence order - but Bill was initially nowhere to be found.
Officers then searched the home and uncovered a trap door inside a hallway cupboard which led to underneath the property. And that's exactly where police say they found Bill hiding.
Court documents state Bill surrendered to police and did not declare any weapons when pressed.
Shortly after, police allegedly seized the baton from the lounge room, before Bill was taken to Lake Illawarra police station in a paddy wagon.
In court, Bill pleaded guilty to contravening the AVO, and confirmed he will fight two other charges of possessing a prohibited weapon without a permit and using a prohibited weapon contrary to a prohibition order.
Defence lawyer Caitlin Drabble argued the prosecution case was weak given the weapon was found in a shared space of the house, making it difficult to prove the baton was actually his.
However police prosecutor Sergeant Kate McKinley said the magistrate must take the police facts at their highest when considering bail.
Sgt McKinley added a custodial sentence was "extremely likely" if convicted and pointed to Bill's criminal record which is littered with AVO breaches.
Magistrate Greg Elks denied the application for release, prompting Bill to yell "ya f---kin' c-cksuckers" before leaving the room.
Read more Illawarra court and crime stories here.