Drunk man, 29, pointed replica firearms at police
ADRUNK man pointed a replica Dirty Harry-style Magnum handgun and a realistic-looking submachine gun at police and fired one in the air, a court has heard.
Karl Jones brandished the replica Uzi submachine gun and replica Magnum revolver at armed response officers who had rushed to his house after he had threatened two police officers with a firearm.
Newport Crown Court heard 29-year-old Jones claimed he keeps the weapons in order to scare the birds away from the expensive koi carp in his pond.
Rhodri Jones, prosecuting, said the incident took place at a property in Barry in the early hours of March 5 this year. Two local constables had gone to Jones’ address following a distressed call from the defendant.
The prosecutor said the PCs found Jones in a “heavily intoxicated” state and apparently upset about his relationship with his partner. The defendant went into his bedroom and sat on his bed with the PC talking to him and trying to help.
Jones then suddenly reached under the bed and produced what looked like a large silver .44 Magnum handgun – of the kind popularised in the 1970s Dirty Harry movies starring Clint Eastwood.
He pointed it directly at the officers and told them to get out.
The prosecutor said the officers “required no second invitation” to leave – fleeing the property and activating the emergency button on their radios to call for help as they did so.
The court heard an armed response unit was deployed and Jones then left his home and began walking towards the officers holding the Magnum in one hand and what looked like an Uzi submachine gun in the other. The defendant pointed the weapons directly at the armed officers and the officers shouted to him to drop the guns.
Mr Jones said a short standoff then followed before the defendant pointed the Magnum into the air and fired it.
From the sound of the firearm being discharged police were able to tell it was an air weapon, and moments later an officer approached the defendant from behind and Tasered him. The defendant was restrained and arrested.
The court heard both weapons were seized and examined and found to be air-powered replicas.
Jones, of Y Rhodfa, Barry, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause fear or distress when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. The court heard he has previous convictions for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, using violence to gain entry to premises, aggravated vehicle-taking, and harassment.
Adam Sharp, for Jones, said the defendant claimed he kept the air replica Uzi and the “over-sized revolver reminiscent of the Clint Eastwood movies of old” in order to scare birds away from the expensive koi carp he had in his pond.
He said it had been the defendant who had “bothered the police” with the initial late-night call.
He added that Jones had a serious medical condition that was now in remission and had also been diagnosed with depression.
Judge Geraint Walters said Jones had produced what appeared to be a real firearm and pointed it straight at the officers in his bedroom – an experience which must have been terrifying for the officers.
Giving the defendant the required one-third discount for his guilty pleas, the judge sentenced him to 16 months in prison for each of the two offences with the sentences to run concurrently, making an overall sentence of 16 months. Jones will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence under the UK Government’s early release scheme to serve the remainder in the community.