Jury acquits man accused of firearm burglary at Allansford

Jol Katsaros, then 19, was accused of stealing a Hunter Sako rifle, a Winchester rifle and a 12 gauge shotgun from a rural Allansford property in the early hours of July 14, 2021.

He was found not guilty of burglary, theft and theft of firearms.

Jurors in the Warrnambool County Court trial delivered their verdict shortly before 11.30am on July 24, 2024.

They had deliberated for about four hours after retiring to consider the evidence at 3.30pm the day before.

During the trial the prosecution alleged Mr Katsaros and Allansford man Jackson Fary, 33, acted as a team when they stole the guns worth more than $7000, as well as two Stihl chainsaws and $150 cash.

Mr Fary told the court the pair smoked methamphetamine throughout the day of July 13, 2021, and then later decided to "do an earn" which he described as finding tools or cash "or whatever" to pay for more drugs.

He said he contacted a mate from Melbourne via social media application Snapchat in an attempt to sell the guns but it never eventuated.

Jurors also heard evidence from the alleged victims of the burglary and Dr Matthew Sorell, who was cross-examined about telephone data which the prosecution alleged showed the two men were together in Allansford at the time of the burglary.

But barrister John Blackley, representing Mr Katsaros, said the data had an unexplained 30 to 45-minute gap either side of the crime taking place.

He said it was not disputed that a burglary occurred, that Mr Fary was involved and that he was trying to on-sell the stolen firearms.

Mr Fary admitted to abusing the drug ice and was already on bail for recently committing an unrelated firearm burglary with six other associates, Mr Blackley said.

He said Mr Fary was charged by police and then later convicted of the offending in court.

The barrister said Mr Fary received a considerable discount in sentence for testifying against Mr Katsaros, as well as in the other burglary case.

"(Mr Fary) lied to conceal the true identity of his accomplice and get a better jail sentence from the judge," Mr Blackley told jurors in his closing address.

He said if Mr Fary admitted he was lying or chose not to give evidence, he faced being re-sentenced to an even longer jail term.

Mr Katsaros, who had been on bail for about three years, walked free from court.

It was the second time he had faced trial after a previous jury was discharged in February.