The police were called when a housing officer saw an air gun on a table in a Hemel Hempstead flat.
Kirk English was out when the officer went to his home with a plumber to service the boiler.
He was arrested later and put in the cells at Hemel Hempstead police station, Luton Crown Court heard yesterday (Monday, May 11).
Prosecutor Daniel Siong said English told an officer: “I have got f… all to hide – f…… d…heads. It’s a f…… pellet gun.”
The prosecutor said a law change in 2004 meant that the defendant should have obtained a certificate to possess it.
English, of Glenview Road, Hemel, pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with no certificate on January 15 last year.
He had 30 previous convictions for 43 offences, mostly for drugs and motoring.
Defending, Archangelo Power said the gun had belonged to English’s father and he had possessed it for over 16 years.
Mr Power said: “He told the police it was a pellet gun which he used to shoot in the back yard. It was disassembled in the house and there had been no attempt to modify or convert it. He did not think it was a firearm and was not aware of the law change.”
Mr Power said English, who had been on benefits, had recently made two trips to Sierra Leone to work for a charity.
Judge Mark Bishop ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the gun.
He adjourned sentence until May 26 for a probation report. He said he would not be sending English to prison.
0 Comments