Gun enthusiast had illegal pistols at home
A GUN enthusiast had live ammunition and three illegal pistols stored at his home, a court heard.
Former RAF policeman Mark Owens was targeted by police as part of a nationwide operation against illegal guns.
Andrew Scott, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court that Owens had bought imitation weapons from a website which had been linked to illegal weapons.
Owens, who spent 22 years in the service, was out when officers arrived to carry out the search.
They discovered a collection of over 200 imitation weapons inside the property. Nearly all were legal but three pistols capable of firing CS gas cylinders were prohibited weapons.
Five rounds of live ammunition which Owens had retained from his RAF days were also found at the property.
Owens, 49, of Ambleside Close, Sleaford, admitted three charges of possessing a prohibited weapon and a further charge of illegal possession of ammunition on May 6, 2008.
Nicholas Fooks, defending, said Owens had collected weapons for the last 30 years and was careful to buy from legitimate companies and websites based in the UK.
He said Owens, whose shotgun certificate was suspended following the police raid, inadvertently broke the law, having bought what he believed were blank-firing pistols.
"This prosecution has caused him to feel great shame. What has happened has put him off his love of guns.
"After this came to light he went back to where he purchased the guns from and asked whether they had any other issues like this. They told him that they had not. He and his wife are a law abiding couple. As far as he is concerned this is a complete disaster."
Owens was given a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay 250 towards prosecution costs after Judge Michael Heath said he accepted that Owens had inadvertently broken the law and was as surprised as anyone to discover the pistols were prohibited weapons.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sleaford
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: -6 C to -2 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
