Man pleads guilty to pointing loaded gun at pub’s bouncers

A man has admitted pointing a loaded gun at bouncers outside a bar on a busy city centre street.

Francis Smith, 32, returned to Nico’s Bar in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, after an incident on 21 December 2019 when he was allegedly assaulted and shouted, “I’m going to get a gun and shoot you”, before walking off.

The High Court in Glasgow heard he then went to his accommodation nearby and pulled a handgun wrapped in a towel from a chest of drawers and took a bullet cartridge from a glove and put it in his pocket. Smith then went back to Nico’s Bar holding the weapon and someone in the vicinity shouted “gun” as a warning as he approached.

He pointed it at two bouncers, who wrestled the weapon from him and restrained him on the ground, helped by another door steward.

Smith admitted assaulting two men, pointing a loaded handgun at them and threatening to shoot them when he appeared at court yesterday.

He also pled guilty to possessing ammunition and a prohibited weapon illegally. When the weapon was examined it was found to be a Slovakian manufactured Grand Power self-loading pistol, which was in working order and capable of discharging bullets.

Describing what happened after the incident, advocate depute Angela Gray told the court: “A search of the accused’s room was undertaken.

“Police officers pulled a chest of drawers away from the wall in the room, finding a single bulleted cartridge on the floor.

“Within a money tin there were a further five loose bullet cartridges.

“Five additional bulleted cartridges were recovered from a latex glove, which had been tied in a knot.

“There was a bulleted cartridge in the magazine that was attached to the pistol when the accused pointed it at the door stewards.

“When the handgun was first recovered by firearms officers, the safety catch was off.”

She said that all of the cartridges recovered from the accused’s address were also apparently live and suitable for use with the handgun recovered.

The court was shown CCTV footage of the incident in Sauchiehall Street, which happened on the last Saturday before Christmas when the area was busy with pedestrians.