Man who 'unwittingly' stole gun jailed for five years

[25Pdr]

Man who 'unwittingly' stole gun jailed for five years

Full Story....

A thief from Moray who "unwittingly" stole a gun from the house of a widow has been jailed for five years.

Guy Whitelaw, 28, from Forres, told police he discovered the handgun in a cash box he took from the house.

Whitelaw admitted having the gun and was given minimum jail term for illegal possession of a firearm.

He told the court the victim, a 63-year-old woman who said the gun had belonged to her late husband, should be prosecuted for not having a permit.

Be interesting to see what happens to the 63 year old lady.

[Robin128]

The law is the law.

The thief deserved 5 years.

[ovenpaa]

...and the crim that stole Cherokees shotguns? Is he going to get 5 years? It will be interesting to see if this law is applied across the board, somehow I doubt it....

[Robin128]

Some judges appear to pick and choose.

:-P

[Sim G]

Some judges appear to pick and choose.

:-P

As disappointing as it may sometimes be, that is the corner stone of our criminal justice system and has been since the inception of jury trials, around 1358. Each case is dealt with on it's own particular merits and each is judged according to the law and those merits.

Arbitary justice is not remotely attractive. Sharia law and "justice" as such under a regime like China's spring to mind.....

[Robin128]

Yet statute provides a minimum sentence which judges sometimes choose to ignore.

[Blackstuff]

...and the crim that stole Cherokees shotguns? Is he going to get 5 years? It will be interesting to see if this law is applied across the board, somehow I doubt it....

The 5 year minimum applies to Section 5 firearms only. Its been a while since i've seen the sentencing schedule for firearms offences but i think simple possession without a certificate is 2-3years max - i could be wrong

[Sandgroper]

From http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/mand ... sentences/

Section 51A Firearms Act 1968 (as inserted by section 287 Criminal Justice Act 2003

(Archbold 5-258 et seq)

Section 287 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 inserted a new section 51A into the Firearms Act 1968 that introduced a mandatory minimum sentence for the offence of possession, purchase, acquisition, manufacture, transfer or sale of certain prohibited weapons on or after 22nd January 2004.

Section 51A applies to offences committed on or after 22 January 2004 (where the offender was aged 16, 17 or over 21 years of age when the offence was committed), or to offences committed on or after 28 May 2007 where the offender was aged 16 or over AND is aged 18, 19 or 20 at the date of conviction.

The section requires that a Crown Court shall impose a minimum sentence of

5 years imprisonment if the offender is aged 18 or over when convicted, or,
3 years detention under s. 91 PCC(S)A 2000 (long term detention) if the offender was under 18 but over 16 when the offence was committed.

The reason for the different commencement dates is explained in full, together with further guidance on firearms offences, and the operation of the minimum mandatory term in such cases in:

See Firearms Legal Guidance.

The qualifying offences are:

Sec 5 (1) (a) - any firearm which is so designed or adapted so that two or more missiles can be successively discharged without repeated pressure on the trigger e.g. machine guns, burst fire weapons;

Sec 5 (1) (ab) - any self-loading or pump-action rifled gun other than one which is chambered for .22 rimfire e.g. short barrelled rifles or carbines;

Sec 5 (1) (aba) - any firearm which either has a barrel less than 30cm in length or is less than 60cm in length overall, other than an air weapon, a muzzle-loading gun or a firearm designed as signalling apparatus e.g. handguns, revolvers;

Sec 5 (1) (ac) - any self-loading or pump-action smooth-bore gun which is not an air weapon or chambered for .22 rim-fire cartridges and either has a barrel less than 24" in length or is less than 40" in length overall e.g. self loading or pump action shotguns;

Sec 5 (1) (ad) - any smooth-bore revolver gun other than one that is chambered for 9mm rim-fire cartridges or a muzzle-loading gun e.g. Dragon or Striker Gun;

Sec 5 (1) (ae) - any rocket launcher, or any mortar, for projecting a stabilised missile, other than a launcher or mortar designed for line-throwing or pyrotechnic purposes or as signalling apparatus

Sec 5(1)(af) - any air rifle, air gun or air pistol which uses, or is designed or adapted for use with, a self- contained gas cartridge system e.g. Brococks

Sec 5 (1) (c) - any cartridge with a bullet designed to explode on or immediately before impact, any ammunition containing or designed or adapted to contain any such noxious thing as mentioned above, and, if capable of being used with a firearm of any description, any grenade, bomb (or other like missile), or rocket or shell designed to explode as aforesaid e.g. ammunition containing explosive bullets or CS;

Sec 5 (1) (A) (a) - any firearm which is disguised as another object e.g.pengun, key fob gun, .

Section 29 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 extends the mandatory minimum sentence to the offence of using another person to mind a dangerous weapon, where the weapon is a prohibited weapon.

Section 30 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 extends the mandatory minimum sentence to the following offences committed on or after 6th April 2007, where the firearm used is a prohibited weapon listed above:

Section 16 Firearms Act 1968 (possession of firearm with intent to injure)
Section 16A Firearms Act 1968 (possession of firearm with intent to cause fear of violence)
Section 17 Firearms Act 1968 (use of firearm to resist arrest)
Section 18 Firearms Act 1968 (carrying firearm with criminal intent)
Section 19 18 Firearms Act 1968 (carrying a firearm in a public place)
Section 20 (1) 18 Firearms Act 1968 (trespassing in a building with a firearm
Section 28 Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (using another person to mind a dangerous weapon)

Note: The minimum sentence provisions for firearms offences apply on first conviction, unlike the provisions of s110 and 111 PCC(S)A, which apply only to repeat offenders.