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4 Sep 2025 18:35
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  •   Home > News > International

    Suspected Porepunkah gunman Dezi Freeman stripped of gun licence prior to police shooting

    Dezi Freeman, the 56-year-old Porepunkah man wanted over the fatal shooting of two police officers, last year complained to a court that he had his firearms licence cancelled and lost membership to his gun club.


    The suspected gunman wanted over the deadly shootings of two police officers last year complained to a court that he had his firearms licence cancelled and lost membership to his gun club.

    Victoria Police is currently undertaking a large-scale manhunt for Dezi Freeman, 56, who allegedly gunned down the officers and injured a third as they executed a search warrant for historical sex crimes at a property in Porepunkah, in the state's high country.

    Investigators believe Mr Freeman, who considers himself a so-called sovereign citizen, is heavily armed with multiple weapons.

    The search has prompted investigators to put the tiny town at the foot of Victoria's alpine region into lockdown, with shops and business closed as police scour the region.

    A victim of a 'personal vendetta'

    Mr Freeman last year launched a Supreme Court challenge after his drivers licence was cancelled and he was disqualified from driving for two years after being convicted of speeding, refusing to submit to a drug test and using a mobile phone while driving.

    Mr Freeman, who was born Desmond Filby, told the Supreme Court he and his family were the victims of "malicious prosecution" and "personal vendetta" after he was stopped for speeding outside a fish and chip shop.

    According to the court, the incident sparked a heated exchange with Mr Freeman who ultimately drove off without completing a drug test while simultaneously filming the officers who pulled him up.

    "I had my firearms licences cancelled and lost my club membership," Mr Freeman told the Supreme Court, which ultimately struck down the challenge.

    "We endured four acts of criminal trespass and harassment on our home by police and I have been dragged through four years of court hearings."

    Victoria Police declined to comment on whether Mr Freeman had his gun licence cancelled.

    Court records obtained by the ABC paint the picture of a man who felt deeply wronged by police, who he previously described as "terrorist thugs" and "friggin' Nazis".

    "Disability pensioner Dezi Freeman takes his kids fishing down a quiet country road and suffers years of malicious damaging persecution by an increasing number of state employees who hid behind the colour of the law," Mr Freeman told the court.

    "They knock us down and then keep kicking us when we're down. In other words, they look for the splinter in my eye while tripping over the logs in theirs."

    Uncovering the private home life of alleged gunman

    The documents also revealed deeply personal details of Mr Freeman's home life which he said would be seriously affected by the loss of his license.

    Mr Freeman described himself as a disability pensioner but said he was once a professional photographer — a job which helped him sponsored his wife to come to Australia from the Philippines.

    He revealed his wife was suffering from anxiety after the birth of their child and that all their children were being homeschooled.

    "Taking my licence has just pushed us to breaking point given the hell we have already been through," he said.

    "Swimming and driving has always been a core activity of homeschool for us."

    Police reported that Mr Freeman's wife and children attended a police station on Tuesday evening. 

    Public records reveal that Mr Freeman has had multiple run-ins with the police over the last 30 years, mostly for driving offences.

    In addition to the driving charges he challenged, Mr Freeman has previously been fined for speeding twice.


    ABC




    © 2025 ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved

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