OUT on parole after he shot at a young couple who had just been racially abused on Australia Day 2017 and subject to an order banning him from having any firearms, Tyrone Tuli was twice arrested in the space of a few days after police found guns and ammunition at a house at Wallsend.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"I've got a bullet for you," Tulli, then 20, told the couple before raising a black pistol and firing two shots in Hanbury Street, Mayfield, about 1.35pm on January 26, 2017.
Minutes earlier, Tuli's mother had made a similar threat, telling the 21-year-old female victim: "I've got a bullet for you. Black slut. It's Australia Day". For that, Tuli was jailed for a maximum of three years, with a non-parole period of 18 months, making him eligible for release in July, 2019.
A few months later, in the early hours of December 14, Tuli, Thomas Greentree and Mitchell Mervin were at a service station at Merewether when a police car pulled in.
While police were confirming that the black Mazda in the car park had been stolen at a home invasion the day before, the service station attendant overheard Tuli say "shit the police", while Mervin pulled a knife out from behind his back and placed it on a shelf.
As the police approached the pair in the store, Greentree, who was in the car, tried to flee, triggering a struggle with police and then later a wild pursuit across Newcastle - from Birmingham Gardens, Waratah and Jesmond and then Heatherbrae, Raymond Terrace and Williamtown.
Road spikes stripped the tyres at Mayfield West but Greentree continued until the car crashed into a set of traffic lights on Industrial Drive. Police would find a rifle under the front seat.
Meanwhile, Tuli was being arrested back at the service station at Merewether after police found nearly $9000 cash and several rounds of ammunition in his bag. It appears he was granted bail, because a few days later police went to a home at Mayfield looking for Tuli in relation to a breach of his firearm prohibition order and to conduct a bail check.
He had breached his curfew and wasn't home. A few days later, police received a call from the owner of a stolen BMW who was tracking his car on GPS and said it was currently parked in Davis Street, Wallsend.
Police searched the units and later Tuli's bedroom where they found a loaded double barrel shotgun, a .22 calibre rifle, silencers and ammunition. Tuli's DNA was found on the guns and a silencer and he appeared in Newcastle Local Court last week where he pleaded guilty to firearm offences.
He will next appear in Newcastle District Court on October 15 to get a sentence date.
Meanwhile, Greentree was jailed for at least two years for the pursuit, while Mervin received a 15-month intensive corrections order after pleading guilty to a number of offences.
While you're with us, did you know the Newcastle Herald offers breaking news alerts, daily email newsletters and more? Keep up to date with all the local news - sign up here
IN THE NEWS:
