Christina Wynne in court after finding pistol in Bathurst home

Christina Wynne, of Brilliant Street, Bathurst pleaded guilty in Bathurst Local Court on July 19, 2023 to having an unauthorised pistol and not keeping a gun safely.

Court documents said the victim in the matter - who had reported a missing colt .38 pistol - got a call from Wynne on May 22, 2023 saying that he "set [Wynne] up".

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I've thrown that thing over your fence," Wynne replied before she ended the call.

While at work in Bathurst, the man called Oberon police and told officers what Wynne had said.

Police then went to a home on Ross Street in Oberon and found a plastic shopping bag behind a locked gate with a pistol wrapped inside of a shoe box.

The firearm was taken to Bathurst Police Station for forensic testing.

A witness made a report to police saying they saw a white Mustang at the home in Oberon that afternoon and a woman, who fit Wynne's description, got out and tossed a bag over the fence.

After doing checks on the vehicle, police discovered Wynne owned the same vehicle.

Detectives went to Bathurst Base Hospital about 2pm on May 23, 2023 to arrest Wynne.

After she was taken to Bathurst Police Station, Wynne gave an interview where she told officers she found the gun in her garage.

She denied taking it before she later admitted to being scared and driving it to Oberon, where she dumped it in the man's backyard.

Solicitor Shane Cunningham made a "bold" request to have the matter dismissed, before he explained to the court that his client felt she had been, allegedly, "set up".

"She went into her garage to get a spare key when she noticed an unusual item, it was a cloth bag," Mr Cunningham said.

"Not knowing what it was, she looked inside and saw the pistol. She messaged him straight away ... and told him what she had done.

"The [man] had been accusing Ms Wynne of taking the missing firearm, which she had consistently denied ... she feels he set her up."

Mr Cunningham agreed that while Wynne "should have responded in a different way", her reaction could be explained.

"She panicked, she's got no experience with guns and there were some cultural issues with dealing with police ... she didn't know what to do," he said.

Magistrate Elizabeth Ellis told the court she had to consider sending Wynne to jail, given the possession charge carried a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison in the local court.

But Ms Ellis decided against jail time.

"It's very clear there are a lot of matters going on ... It's a very serious charge," Ms Ellis said.

"Your actions had a degree of criminality; to hide."

Wynne was placed on a community correction order for 18 months.

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