iStockphoto
Man with rifle aiming at ducks at carnival shooting gallery
Shooting galleries are a carnival staple that allow you to put your marksmanship skills to the test in the hopes of walking away with a prize. However, one man ended up being treated to the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence after deciding to try his luck in Australia.
Carnivals are designed to provide the people who attend them with a number of entertainment options along with a wide variety of ways to get them to part with their hard-earned money.
That includes questionably maintained rides that offer the thrill of possible injury or death on top of any adrenaline rush, stands peddling meat of mysterious origin and things that no sane person would ever think about deep-frying, and games featuring prizes that typically cost a fraction of the money you’ll have to fork over if you want to win them.
That last group includes staples like the ring toss, milk jug throw, and shooting galleries, the last of which landed one man in Australia in hot water thanks to the terms of his probation.
A member of an Australian bike game is facing prison time for using a gun at a carnival shooting gallery
One of my favorite things about Australia is the name they use to refer to groups of motorcycle riders who are affiliated with the criminal syndicates they call “bikie gangs.”
According to South Australia Police, one of those “bikies,” Timothy Ronald Simpson, a 48-year-old ex-convict affiliated with the Comanchero Motorcycle Club, headed to the Almond Blossom Festival in the town of Willunga with his daughter on July 26th.
He had the chance to win her a prize by stepping up to a shooting gallery where festivalgoers had the chance to shoot plastic ducks with an air rifle. Unfortunately, footage of him doing so came to the atttention of authorities, who arrested him for violating the terms of his probation due to his handling of a firearm and being “unlawfully present at a shooting gallery.”
It’s unclear why Simpson was on probation in the first place, although The Advertiser reports it had something to do with a firearm conviction (he previously sparked a manhunt for an unspecified violation in 2012).
Simpson theoretically faces up to 15 years in prison for picking up the gun as well as up to 10 years for being present at a shooting gallery.
However, it’s unlikely that he’ll serve anything close to that, as the judge who oversaw his initial hearing admonished him for handling the rifle but acknowledged “it’s a sufficiently different (firearm) from what parliament wanted to try to prevent” and “might not represent the most grave type of this offence.”
However, he was not able to secure bail and could remain behind bars until January based on the current court schedule.