SA fugitive's son guilty of gun charges

The son of Adelaide fugitive Rodney Clavell, who shot himself during a siege, has been found guilty of drug and firearm offences.

Richard James Clavell, 28, had denied drug trafficking and gun charges including possessing a firearm without a licence.

But in the District Court on Wednesday, Judge Michael Boylan found him guilty, describing parts of Clavell's evidence as "fanciful".

Clavell had tried to flee police in September 2013 after he and two acquaintances were questioned when their car broke down late at night.

Police said a loaded rifle fell from under Clavell's armpit as he attempted to flee from officers when they found methamphetamine in a bum bag around his waist.

Officers repeatedly used capsicum spray on Clavell, who had been smoking meth, but it had little effect on him and they called for backup.

Clavell denied carrying the rifle, saying it must have been dropped or was thrown away by one of the other men.

He also told the judge, who heard the trial without a jury, that the drugs in the bum bag were not his.

Judge Boylan accepted a police officer's evidence that he had seen the gun tucked under Clavell's armpit, a sighting which the judge said explained the sudden and violent struggle between the pair.

"(The officer) was, understandably, alarmed at the sight of the gun and his first reaction was to put some distance between the gun and the accused after the gun had fallen to the ground.

"The possibility of (him) initiating a struggle with the accused if he thought that he had only discovered evidence of a drug offence is implausible, to say the least."

Clavell's father, a 46-year-old former prison guard with a long criminal history, fatally shot himself after a 13-hour siege in an Adelaide brothel on June 6.

Richard Clavell will face a sentencing hearing on February 4.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or MensLine Australia on 1300 78 99 78.