dwarven1
Lonely Mountain Arms
Unfreakinbelievable.
Man hands in machine gun . . and is jailed
Feb 29 2008 by Chloe Griffiths, Liverpool Echo
A YOUNG man was praised by a judge for handing in a sub-machine gun to police, and then jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Shaun Wood voluntarily handed in the weapon, which he had been looking after for an associate for three months, after crumbling under the pressure of “minding” it.
At Liverpool crown court yesterday, Judge Sean Duncan described his decision as “brave”, but handed him a reduced term for possessing a prohibited weapon.
The court heard Wood had run up a debt with his Childwall drug dealer after losing his job.
To pay off the £200 cannabis bill, he agreed to store small amounts of the drug at his home in Clayford Crescent, Knotty Ash.
The court heard the 22-year-old was ordered to hold increasingly serious drugs, including crack cocaine, until he was given the Mac sub-machine gun and ammunition.
But Charles Lander, prosecuting, said the pressure got to Wood.
He picked up the gun, which was hidden under floorboards, and began to walk around Southport
He eventually went in to the town’s police station where, “visibly shaking and distressed”, he voluntarily handed it ov to police officers..
Wood told them he simply wanted to get rid of the gun and had been contemplating suicide.
He admitting loading bullets, but said he had been unable to sleep while it was in his house.
Wood, who admitted possession of a prohibited weapon and ammunition on November 7 last year, has no previous offences.
Despite accepting Wood must have had “some fascination at first” to fit the gun’s magazine, Judge Duncan added: “If people are brave enough to come forward and hand in guns, the courts will acknowledge that bravery.”
Machine gun handed in to police station
A young man who handed in a sub-machine gun and ammunition he was minding for a drug dealer to Southport police station was praised for doing "the right thing."
Shaun Wood faced an automatic five year sentence for the firearms offences but a judge ruled there were exceptional circumstances and halved the term.
"It should be known if people are brave enough to come forward and hand in guns the courts will acknowledge that bravery and the fact it is the right thing to do," said Judge Sean Duncan.
"Parliament has decreed that the public is so worried about the use of firearms - and that is particularly acute on Merseyside - that, unless there are exceptional circumstances, if someone is found in possession of that sort of weaponry and ammunition they face a minimum sentence of five years," he said.
Jailing 22-year-old Wood for two and a half years the judge pointed out that Wood could easily have thrown the weapon into a skip or lake or wheelie bin but had made the right decision even though "that put him in the firing line."
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday February 28 that Wood walked into Southport police station on the evening of November 7 last year and said he wanted to hand in a bag containing a semi-automatic pistol loaded with bullets in the magazine.
Wood, who was visibly shaken and distressed, explained he had been minding it for a Liverpool man, said Charles Lander, prosecuting.
He said he had been walking around Southport and had decided to hand it in as he did not know what else to do. He said he did not want to keep hold of it but had been threatened by the man.
When interviewed he explained he had run up a £200 cannabis debt and after losing his job was struggling to repay it and agreed to mind cannabis for his dealer, who lives in Childwall.
He was later given Class A drugs to look after and three months ago was told to mind the gun. He said he had sleepless nights and had been so worried that he had contemplated suicide. The man had shown him how to load it and Wood did so as the man said he wanted it ready for use.
That day he went to Southport and after walking around all day he decided to hand it in.
Wood, of Clayford Crescent, Knotty Ash, pleaded guilty two charges of possessing a prohibited weapon, a Mac-10 sub machine gun and a Uzi pattern magazine.
He also admitted possessing five 9mm bulleted cartridges and a Winchester cartridge re-loaded with a jacketed hollow point bullet.
Jason Smith, defending, said that testimonials spoke highly of Wood, who has never been in trouble before.
Man hands in machine gun . . and is jailed
Feb 29 2008 by Chloe Griffiths, Liverpool Echo
A YOUNG man was praised by a judge for handing in a sub-machine gun to police, and then jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Shaun Wood voluntarily handed in the weapon, which he had been looking after for an associate for three months, after crumbling under the pressure of “minding” it.
At Liverpool crown court yesterday, Judge Sean Duncan described his decision as “brave”, but handed him a reduced term for possessing a prohibited weapon.
The court heard Wood had run up a debt with his Childwall drug dealer after losing his job.
To pay off the £200 cannabis bill, he agreed to store small amounts of the drug at his home in Clayford Crescent, Knotty Ash.
The court heard the 22-year-old was ordered to hold increasingly serious drugs, including crack cocaine, until he was given the Mac sub-machine gun and ammunition.
But Charles Lander, prosecuting, said the pressure got to Wood.
He picked up the gun, which was hidden under floorboards, and began to walk around Southport
He eventually went in to the town’s police station where, “visibly shaking and distressed”, he voluntarily handed it ov to police officers..
Wood told them he simply wanted to get rid of the gun and had been contemplating suicide.
He admitting loading bullets, but said he had been unable to sleep while it was in his house.
Wood, who admitted possession of a prohibited weapon and ammunition on November 7 last year, has no previous offences.
Despite accepting Wood must have had “some fascination at first” to fit the gun’s magazine, Judge Duncan added: “If people are brave enough to come forward and hand in guns, the courts will acknowledge that bravery.”
Machine gun handed in to police station
A young man who handed in a sub-machine gun and ammunition he was minding for a drug dealer to Southport police station was praised for doing "the right thing."
Shaun Wood faced an automatic five year sentence for the firearms offences but a judge ruled there were exceptional circumstances and halved the term.
"It should be known if people are brave enough to come forward and hand in guns the courts will acknowledge that bravery and the fact it is the right thing to do," said Judge Sean Duncan.
"Parliament has decreed that the public is so worried about the use of firearms - and that is particularly acute on Merseyside - that, unless there are exceptional circumstances, if someone is found in possession of that sort of weaponry and ammunition they face a minimum sentence of five years," he said.
Jailing 22-year-old Wood for two and a half years the judge pointed out that Wood could easily have thrown the weapon into a skip or lake or wheelie bin but had made the right decision even though "that put him in the firing line."
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday February 28 that Wood walked into Southport police station on the evening of November 7 last year and said he wanted to hand in a bag containing a semi-automatic pistol loaded with bullets in the magazine.
Wood, who was visibly shaken and distressed, explained he had been minding it for a Liverpool man, said Charles Lander, prosecuting.
He said he had been walking around Southport and had decided to hand it in as he did not know what else to do. He said he did not want to keep hold of it but had been threatened by the man.
When interviewed he explained he had run up a £200 cannabis debt and after losing his job was struggling to repay it and agreed to mind cannabis for his dealer, who lives in Childwall.
He was later given Class A drugs to look after and three months ago was told to mind the gun. He said he had sleepless nights and had been so worried that he had contemplated suicide. The man had shown him how to load it and Wood did so as the man said he wanted it ready for use.
That day he went to Southport and after walking around all day he decided to hand it in.
Wood, of Clayford Crescent, Knotty Ash, pleaded guilty two charges of possessing a prohibited weapon, a Mac-10 sub machine gun and a Uzi pattern magazine.
He also admitted possessing five 9mm bulleted cartridges and a Winchester cartridge re-loaded with a jacketed hollow point bullet.
Jason Smith, defending, said that testimonials spoke highly of Wood, who has never been in trouble before.
![[thinking]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/010.gif "Thinking [thinking]")
