![Some of the firearms seized by police after the arrest of two young men who had been on a months-long rural crime spree. Picture by NSW Police Some of the firearms seized by police after the arrest of two young men who had been on a months-long rural crime spree. Picture by NSW Police](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/3FRrb3AuBjKJGNhBeTSDxy/369e5cc7-135c-4b4e-8c5f-669368336499.jpg/r0_141_2700_1659_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
TOGETHER they filmed themselves starting a bushfire and trying to run down a mob of emus and laughed as they recalled how an armed robbery victim had pleaded for her life.
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Best friends Brendan Cannard and Brandon Kennedy-Jones, now both 21, were motivated by a need to get money for drugs and destroy evidence, but mostly by "stupidity" as they embarked on a months-long rural crime spree, terrorising farmers and remote property owners in the Upper Hunter.
They set a bushfire, torched an abandoned property, stole firearms and committed a terrifying armed robbery.
And they filmed some of their crimes on their phones and could be heard laughing about the armed robbery victim's fear or a mob of emus desperately trying to outrun their ute.
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"Don't kill me, don't kill me," Cannard said, imitating the female victim of an armed robbery that they committed at a remote service station.
"Haha. Imagine being her and not knowing if we were going to swing that machete down or not. "I can't wait to see it on the news."
At 15, Cannard discovered the body of a family friend and from there his life spiralled out of control.
![The tube where Brendan Cannard and Brandon Kennedy Jones hid their stolen firearms on a remote property. The tube where Brendan Cannard and Brandon Kennedy Jones hid their stolen firearms on a remote property.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/3FRrb3AuBjKJGNhBeTSDxy/8f2cc32a-3b2d-4c98-91fa-0ba257d2be6e.jpg/r0_0_1800_2700_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Suffering from undiagnosed and untreated PTSD, he was self-medicating by drinking heavily and using ice during the crime spree.
With a clear mind, Judge Peter McGrath said Cannard was now able to articulate the motivation behind the arsons, break-ins and armed robbery.
"When asked about his motivation for his offending, he describes it as being stupidity," Judge McGrath said.
"He regarded the offences as being spontaneous and impulsive and committed in the pursuit of having fun. He described he and his co-offender as being idiots and he did not turn his mind to consider any of the consequences of his actions."
As for a motivation for the offending, Mr Cannard described it as being stupidity. He described he and the co-offender as being idiots.
- Judge Peter McGrath SC said when sentencing Cannard.
Cannard was on Friday jailed for a maximum of 10 years, with a non-parole period of six years.
Kennedy-Jones, who has also pleaded guilty, is looking at a similar jail term when he is sentenced next month.
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