Man found with loaded shotgun in his car jailed
10 years for crook embroiled in dispute with criminal gang
ACROOK was caught with a loaded double-barrelled shotgun in a car after sending threats and “boastful” messages to a gang, a court heard.
Mohammed Khan, 24, was wearing a stab vest when arrested in Perry Barr and had taken pictures of himself wielding firearms.
Khan, of Leyton Road, Handsworth, was jailed for 10 years after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possessing a prohibited weapon and possessing ammunition and cannabis.
His brother Zeeshan Khan, 23, of Blackwood Road, Sutton Coldfield, was sentenced to 44 weeks in jail, suspended for 18 months, after he admitted fraudulent use of number plates and dangerous driving. He was also given a two-year driving ban.
Ian Bell, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said armed police swooped on a Vauxhall Astra parked in Almond Grove, Perry Barr, at around 2am on May 24 last year.
The vehicle had false plates, the windows were tinted and officers did not know how many people were inside.
Zeeshan Khan attempted to drive off but stalled the Astra and was dragged out of the car. His brother Mohammed Khan, who was in the back, was also removed from the vehicle.
Police found a bag in the rear footwell which contained a double barrelled sawn-off shotgun, whose stock and barrel had both been shortened. It was loaded with two cartridges and there were a further eight in the bag, along with three further bullets.
Police also recovered two phones belonging to Mohammed Khan which contained pictures of him with firearms and messages of threatening to use them. There was also a discussion about getting more shotgun cartridges.
“Some of the messages were fearful for his own safety but they were predominantly boastful,” he said.
Mr Ball said Zeeshan Khan had been pursued by police a month before while driving while uninsured.
Karl Volz, for Mohammed Khan, said that the “whole beef” had involved a criminal gang and Khan had been ‘‘dragged into the argument by association’’. He had previously been chased and bullets had been fired into his car.
“This had been going on for a year. The messages were bravado,” he said. “He was under immense strain and pressure, trying to protect his family. He was in fear for his life. He felt there was no alternative and took matters into his own hands.”
Judge Thomas Rochford told Mohammed Khan: “There were two cartridges loaded in the gun so it was ready to use at a moment’s notice. I accept there was a degree of frustration on your part in that you did not feel the police were able to protect you.”
But he said that Khan had “chosen a lifestyle of firearms” and that the photos on his phone were an aggravating feature.