Gus Lamont's grandparent fined over gun offence unrelated to 4yo boy's disappearance

The grandparent of missing four-year-old Gus Lamont has been fined $10,500 for possession of a gun silencer at the family's Oak Park Station, in South Australia's far north.

Josie Rachelle Murray, 75, was charged in February just a short time after police declared her grandson's disappearance a major crime.

Police previously said the firearms offence is not related to Gus's disappearance.

The 75-year-old has also been banned from holding or obtaining a firearms licence for five years.

Outside the court, an ABC journalist was knocked over as Murray left.

She then grabbed the sock off an ABC News microphone before throwing it away.

Prosecutor Tania Stevens told the court the firearm's sound moderator was found during a search of the property for an "unrelated matter".

"They were shown to the strong room containing the moderator together with the defendant's licensed firearms," she said.

"The defendant conceded to police at the outset that she was aware of the presence of the moderator."

Ms Stevens said Murray was in possession of the sound moderator before it became illegal in 2017.

"The defendant did not surrender that sound moderator once it became an offence to possess that item and remained in possession of that item illegally for over eight years," she said.

"The onus was on the defendant to comply with the legislation."

Ms Stevens said the prosecution conceded that there was "no evidence that the defendant possessed the silencer for a nefarious reason".

The court also heard that Murray has a previous conviction for failing to comply with firearms regulations when two "unsecured firearms" were stolen from her property in 2009.

Andrew Ey, defence counsel for Murray, highlighted to the court that the charges related to a sound moderator and not a firearm.

"It needs to be remembered that this is a sound moderator, Your Honour, not an unlicensed firearm or insecure firearm that's fallen into the wrong hands, it is a sound moderator," he said.

"It's a sound moderator that in affect takes the sharpness, or the bark, out of a .22 rifle."

He also told the court it had been a "very difficult" time for his client following Gus's disappearance.

"I'll address the elephant in the room; it's been an extremely difficult time for my client," Mr Ey said.

"Their grandchild went missing on their property late last year.

"This has been a very, very difficult time for the family. They're trying to get through it as best they can."

Mr Ey also told the court that his client is "remorseful for the offending".

"It's, in effect, an oversight on her behalf," he said.

Mr Ey said that Murray had been living at Oak Park Station — and manning between 2000 and 4000 sheep — for close to 50 years and had been a boarder at St Peter's College in Adelaide.

"[She is] a woman that has been nothing but extremely hard working," he said.

Still no sign of missing boy

Four-year-old Gus Lamont went missing from his family's property on Oak Park Station near Yunta on September 27.

Since then, multiple extensive searches, including scouring mine shafts and draining dams, have failed to uncover his remains.

SA Police had identified more than 500 people who were "in and around" Oak Park Station when he went missing, but said there was no evidence to suggest he had been abducted.

Grandparent remains a suspect

Speaking after the latest search for Gus last month — which yielded no fresh evidence — SA Police Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke said one of Gus's grandparents "remains a suspect" in his disappearance.

"At this time, no other suspects or persons of interest have been identified in this investigation," he said last month.

Gus's grandparents had previously shared a statement saying they had "cooperated fully with the investigation and want nothing more than to find Gus and reunite him with his mum and dad".

Superintendent Fielke vowed SA Police "won't give up" searching for the little boy.