Rodney Williams, 53, of Glenroi, was armed with a hunting knife when people pointed him out to the police and although he raised his hands when the police drew their firearms he walked away and attempted to hide the knife instead of following their demands to lay down.

Magistrate David Day questioned why Williams wanted to arm himself with a knife in the circumstance where other's had firearms.

"Your client doesn't know the difference between fireworks exploding and a gun going off," Mr Day said to Williams' solicitor Katarina Duncan.

According to police, a group of males let off the fireworks at a residence near the intersection of Cox Avenue and Bathurst Road about 1.45am on November 7, 2021.

The noise angered nearby residents and a number of people confronted the males and a number of weapons were produced among the two groups, including a machete and a samurai style sword as well as a bolt action rifle.

The groups were yelling at each other but when the rifle was produced the other residents retreated and the police were called.

In the meantime the person with the rifle fled over a back fence.

Williams was walking towards the scene when the police arrived and some of the people pointed him out to the police officers who pointed their guns at him and ordered him to get on the ground.

With his hands raised he started walking back the other way and removed a large hunting knife in a leather sheath from the back of his pants and dropped it on the other side of a fence before lying down.

When asked what he was doing there he said "I don't know what's going on, gunshots and s*** ... the gun shots ... I have a witness down here who heard what I did and that's why I came to investigate what's going on".

Williams was released from police custody but was charged with having custody of the knife.

Ms Duncan said Williams was experiencing mental health issues at the time but is now back on his medication.

Mr Day noted the mental health situation. He convicted Williams and placed him on a Conditional Release Order requiring him to be of good behaviour for 12 months. The knife was forfeited.

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