A man who police allege fired multiple gunshots inside his Dalby home, before his wife tried to hide the weapon from police by stashing it in the toilet, has applied for bail.
Rick Allan O’Brien applied for bail at Dalby Magistrates Court on June 19 after he allegedly fired a handgun into the ceiling of his Ellen St home and into furniture around the house at 1.30am on Saturday.
Police said another man was present at the time and wrestled with the 51-year-old to take the gun off him.
The court was told when police arrived at the scene Mr O’Brien’s wife asked to use the bathroom where the police then heard the sound of what was described as a “porcelain lid being closed” coming from the toilet.
Magistrate Kyna Morice read details from the police report which said authorities found the handgun in the toilet cistern.
Police prosecutor Derek Brady said four bullet holes were found in Mr O’Brien’s roommate’s bedroom including a bullet hole in the mattress.
He added that the man who appeared at court via video link from the Toowoomba watch house had dated criminal history that spanned across Queensland, Northern Territory and South Australia and were generally of “drug-related” matters.
Additionally, Dalby Police Officer in Charge Senior Sergeant Terry McCullough said when Dalby police arrived at the address they also found the alleged shooter with a “small amount” of marijuana.
Defence lawyer Kelsea Read said the occupant of that room had since moved out of the home so there wasn’t a likelihood of him being in danger upon Mr O’Brien’s release from custody.
Magistrate Morice refused Mr O’Brien’s bail and said she could not be sure of the informant’s safety upon the alleged shooter’s release.
“The allegations are of an incredibly serious nature,” she said.
Ms Morice scheduled the next mention for August 15, with Mr O’Brien remanded in custody.