IMITATION, REPLICA GUNS AND STARTER PISTOLS ARE BEING CONVERTED INTO REAL GUNS
James Jones, 27, has been jailed for seven years after converting Olympic starting pistols into lethal firearms in Tottenham, north London. Jones, who ran a business selling the converted guns out of a suitcase, was one of the 37 people caught in a music store sting by Enfield Police. Damien McGowan was jailed for 10 years for conspiracy to supply firearms and ammunition; Kasheef Hardy was jailed for 10 years for leading a group that sold firearms and ammunition; and Junior Homer, 21, was jailed for 10 and a half years for conspiracy to supply firearms, conspiracy to supply drugs, receiving stolen goods and passing counterfeit currency.
Source: Enfield Independent, 12 September 2011
Police seized more than 50 guns when they raided a flat in North Seaton in Ashington, Northumberland. A man was arrested and charged with firearms offences. A neighbour fears she may have unwittingly handled the guns when looking after parcels for him. The man was charged with converting an imitation firearm into a firearm and possession, purchase or sale of a prohibited weapon.
Source: The Journal, 11 June 2010
Gary Waller ran a gun-conversion factory from his living room in South Norwood, south London. He turned imitation and blank-firing handguns into lethal weapons. He pleaded guilty to a string of firearms offences and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Other members of the gang were Darren Yaw Okupu who acted as a courier, Marvin Welch who stored the finished and partly finished firearms, Wesley Higgins and Adrian McNeish who acted as middlemen sourcing customers and Cadele Clarke bought weapons from Waller. McNeish and Welch pleaded guilty the other men were convicted after a trial. The gang were sentenced to a total of 43 years.
Source:- London Daily News, 31 March 2010
Paul Alexander, an ex-soldier, set up gun factories from which he supplied weapons to street gangs in Liverpool, Manchester and the West Midlands. Using skills he acquired while serving in the Royal Artillery he converted replica guns at factories in Bardfield Saling, Essex, and Bath. His DNA was discovered on a handgun seized by police during a crackdown on gang violence in Liverpool following the death of Rhys Jones. Alexander was arrested at the property he rented in Essex where police uncovered 28 firearms and more than 10,000 bullets. He has been linked to ammunition and guns used in 28 incidents including one alleged murder, four attempted murders, nine other shootings and an armed robbery. He pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, converting imitation firearms into real guns, possessing or manufacturing prohibited ammunition and other offences. Sentencing was adjourned awaiting background reports.
Source: Guardian 21st September 2009
David Hampson was described by a judge as a "dealer in death" when he was jailed for 20 years after pleading guilty to a number of charges of conspiring to supply guns and ammunition. He had transformed the kitchen in his home in Huyton, Merseyside, into a workshop where he could manufacture weapons. He could transform a replica firearm into a handgun in 20 minutes, and his speciality was converting miniature torches into single-shot weapons. Hampson would buy up replica firearms and starting pistols from army supplies stores. Other members of the gang were jailed, Thomas March for 30 months after being convicted of conspiring to supply ammunition and firearms and Neil Perry and Martin Pearson, who admitted the same charges, for five and seven years, respectively. Dean Gerrard will be sentenced later.
Source: Times, 12 September 2009
A man who survived an attempted execution in Harrow, north west London, in April 2009 (see Incidents) has been jailed for six and a half years after being caught with a modified imitation handgun loaded with three bullets in Harrow in June 2009. Garth Robinson, who had 24 previous convictions including possession of weapons, was found guilty.
Source: Harrow Times, 11 December 2009
CONVERTED GUNS USED IN MURDERS
Two men ran an illegal gun factory to turn replica guns into live weapons later used in 51 shootings including eight murders, a court has heard. Grant Wilkinson, 34, and Gary Lewis, 38, deny nine charges of firearms offences after the discovery of weapons and ammunition near Reading. Mr Wilkinson bought 90 replica guns in 2004, which he told the dealer were for a James Bond film, the jury heard. But the prosecution told Reading Crown Court the guns were converted and sold. The pair converted the replicas into real Mac 10 sub-machine guns in the factory at The Briars in Basingstoke Road, Three Mile Cross, jurors heard.
Prosecuting counsel John Price told the court that 51 shootings had been linked to guns which had been converted at the factory. Eight of these were murders, 24 were non-fatal shootings and the other 19 were incidents where the gun was discharged but no-one hurt. A total of 46 shootings took place in London, four in Birmingham and one in Manchester. The majority of the murders took place in London, dating back to the summer of 2004. Mr Price told the court: "On 26 July 2005, a shooting in Denmark Hill, Peckham, which resulted in a fatality, involved one of these converted guns." He also said that on 25 April 2005 police raided an address in Whitcomb Street, London, where they seized one of the converted Mac 10s alleged to have been made at the factory. Mr Price said: "It is impossible to understate the find at The Briars, nor the seriousness of crime carried out across the country, mainly in Greater London, which has featured the carrying and discharging of Mac 10 sub-machine guns converted from replicas at the humble outbuildings here in Reading." The court heard Mr Wilkinson used a fake name to buy the 90 guns, worth £55,201, from Sabre Defence Industries in Middlesex.
Source: BBC
IMMITATION GUNS USED IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Imitation guns can be bought cheaply and without any background checks by anyone, including individuals with criminal records, and those banned by courts from having guns. These weapons are used by domestic violence perpetrators, victims believe the gun to be real, these attacks are therefore very frightening.
For example:-
A man who killed one partner and was jailed for abusing another partner is apparently on the run. Shaun Gibbons disappeared in Wearside and witnesses reported seeing a man carrying a gun. Police recovered a replica handgun at the scene. Gibbons choked his girlfriend to death in 1991 and was handed a reduced murder charge of 'manslaughter on the grounds of provocation'. He served two years before being released and he eventually married another woman, then was jailed for stalking and bullying her during a two-month campaign of terror.
Source: Sunderland Echo, 4 November 2011
Shaun Drake has been jailed for four years and seven months in Bath after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm. On 5 December, 2010, Drake had been involved in a domestic incident and had threatened officers with what turned out to be an imitation gun.
Source: Bath Chronicle, 5 May 2011
Two police officers have been honoured for disarming and subduing a man at a house in Weetwood, Leeds. The man was pointing a handgun at them when they responded to a 999 call from the man's partner who had taken refuge in the bathroom. The gun was later found to be a replica which appeared entirely real. The man, who was high on cocaine, was convicted of affray and given a 12-month sentence suspended for two years, a 12-month supervision order and ordered to do 250 hours of community service.
Source: Yorkshire Evening Post 7 August 2010
A man seen carrying a gun has been shot dead in the street by police in Harold Hill, east London. The police had been responding to an apparent domestic dispute between a man and a woman. Firearms have been recovered from the scene. The Directorate of Public Standards and the Independent Police Complaints Commission have been informed. It is reported that he had the man had brandished a gun at children (Telegraph, 29 October 2008). He was armed with imitations of an AK47 assault rifle and a police issue machine gun. An inquest jury has reached a verdict of lawful killing into his death
Source: BBC 29 October 2008 and Romford Recorder, 18 June 2010.
Paul Swain held an imitation gun to the head of his wife when their marriage collapsed. He threatened that "This is for you" as she was driving through Walsall, West Midlands. His wife did not immediately report the incident to the police but did so when Swain attacked her at the house they shared after a drinking spree. Swain admitted possession of an imitation firearm and assault and was jailed for 16 months.
Express & Star l6 April 2010
Ross Murphy held an imitation handgun to his girlfriend's head. His victim was left cowering between a tumble drier and microwave at a house they shared in Mauchline, Ayrshire, in December 2009. Friends managed to get the gun out of his hand. The gun did not fire bullets or pellets but made a loud shooting sound and is used to scare birds. Murphy, a member of the local airgun club, pleaded guilty to shooting, swearing, acting in a threatening manner, brandishing an imitation handgun, placing a woman in a state of fear and alarm and committing a beach of the peace. He was fined £330 and allowed to walk free. The sheriff said he was taking note of his early guilty plea and favourable background report.
Source:- Ayrshire Post, 26 March 2010
IMITATION GUNS AND SEXUAL CRIME
Imitation weapons, can be bought cheaply and easily without the purchaser having any background checks. Many look exactly like real weapons and they are used to threaten control and intimidate others who believe they are about to be shot.
For Example:-
Adam Willis, 19, has been jailed for seven years after raping a 20-year-old woman in Loughborough. Willis attacked the victim from behind, stifling her screams with his hand and threatening her with an imitation pistol. He then dragged her to a dimly-lit area and sexually assaulted her. Afterward he threatened to kill the victim, a student at Loughborough University, if she reported the crime. However, Willis was caught on CCTV and handed himself in to the police after apparently attempting suicide. He pleaded guilty to rape and possessing an imitation firearm. In addition to the jail time he will serve, Willis will be on a sex offenders' register for life.
Source: Leicester Mercury, 18 October 2011
Two men are on trial accused of raping a woman in a flat in Worcester in July 2008. They both deny the charge and one of them also denies possession of an imitation firearm at the time of committing a rape offence. It is alleged that one of the accused pointed a pistol at her and also threatened to shoot another woman and her child. The trial continues.
Source: Worcester News, 7th September 2010
IMITATION GUNS USED IN CRIME
Imitation guns, bb guns and replica guns are frequently used in crime. In cases where a weapon used to enable crime is not fired and not recovered, it may well be that the weapon used was an imitation, bb, replica or air weapon. Victims being threatened are in no position to accurately identify the gun being used and a victim's description of a 'handgun' may lead to inaccuracies in statistical information regarding the numbers of 'handguns' and the numbers of imitation, bb, and replica guns used in crime.
For example:-
Mikhail Holness has been jailed for eight years after carrying out several armed robberies in Harrow, north London. Holness pled guilty to five counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery, six counts of possession of an imitation firearm and one count of carrying an imitation firearm in a public place. He executed the robberies between June and August and was arrested by police in September after an investigation.
Source: Harrow Times, 7 November 2011
A 16-year-old boy has been sentenced to 18 months detention after robbing a man at gunpoint in Tottenham, north London. He threatened a driver with a gun and stole the man's car, which was later recovered and found to have the teenager's fingerprints. He was convicted of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
Source: Haringey Independent, 3 November 2011
James Lee Thompson has been jailed for five years after holding up a Lincoln shopkeeper with an imitation gun. He had been out of prison for five days when he used the gun to rob a shop. The judge declared Thompson, who had 47 prior convictions for 121 offences, a public menace with a drinking problem, while praising the two women who were victims to the incident.
Source: Lincolnshire Echo, 2 June 2011
A pensioner died from a heart attack on 2 May after his West Bromwich home was the target of an armed robbery. A man has been charged with manslaughter and aggravated burglary as well as possession of an imitation firearm.
Source: BBC News 7 May 2011
Three men have been jailed for a total of 18 years and nine months for a string of armed robberies at video stores in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. Troy Tutin and Alexander Davies both pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery and three counts of being in possession of an imitation firearm and were sentenced to six years. Davies was also sentenced for a drugs offence. Paul Barzey was sentenced to six years and nine months after pleading guilty to two counts of robbery and two counts of being in possession of an imitation firearm and assaulting a member of staff. He was also sentenced in connection with a burglary. The robberies took place in Slough in February 2009 (see Incidents) and Maidenhead in March 2009 (see Incidents) and in Hazlemere in March 2009 (Bucks Free Press, 12 February 2010).
Source: Slough & Langley Observer, 11 February 2010
Because many of these are created as exact replicas of real guns, victims, experts, and experienced firearms officers find it difficult to tell the difference. In October 2009 three men from the black country were jailed, two for 7 years and one for 5 years, for armed carjacking with an imitation gun bought from Poundland.
FATALITIES INVOLVING IMITATION GUNS
Because of the difficulties in identifying imitation guns from real weapons there have been several tragedies involving Armed Response Officers who have shot and killed individuals armed with imitation/ bb/ replica /disguised guns.
For example:
A man seen carrying a gun has been shot dead in the street by police in Harold Hill, east London. The police had been responding to an apparent domestic dispute between a man and a woman. Firearms have been recovered from the scene. The Directorate of Public Standards and the Independent Police Complaints Commission have been informed. It is reported that he had the man had brandished a gun at children (Telegraph, 29 October 2008). He was armed with imitations of an AK47 assault rifle and a police issue machine gun. An inquest jury has reached a verdict of lawful killing into his death
Source: BBC 29 October 2008 and Romford Recorder, 18 June 2010.
A man who reportedly threatened a member of the public with an "Uzi-style" sub-machine gun was shot dead by armed police officers in Stansted, near Sevenoaks in Kent. Police challenged the man and fired two shots. The incident will be investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The incident is being reported to have been "suicide by cop" (Telegraph, 31 December 2007). It later emerged that the gun carried by Dayniel Tucker was a replica (This is Kent, 18 September 2008). A ballistics specialist told an inquest that when he first saw the firearm he believed in was real. The inquest also heard that Tucker had attempted suicide in the past and was likely to have been under the influence of drugs at the time of his death. The jury found that he was lawfully killed (BBC, 1 March 2010).
Source: BBC 30 December 2007
In Canada following several of these fatalities involving Police marksmen there have been calls for imitation guns be licensed. To find out more about this visit http://://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/02/23/ottawa-fake-guns-firearms-act.html
Police Officers have also used Tasar guns to bring down individuals in possession of guns which are later found to be imitations.
For example:-
Police brought down a man by shooting him several times with a stun gun after seeing him with a toy gun in Norwood Junction, south London. The victim had reportedly bought the toy weapon for 99p for his son, and officers shot him upon spotting it, causing injuries to the man's arms and legs.
Source:- Croydon Guardian, 25 November 2011
IMITATION GUNS USED IN ROAD RAGE INCIDENTS
For instance:-
Ian Smith from Luton, Bedfordshire, has admitted brandishing a toy gun at another driver during a road rage incident on the M1 in July 2009 which involved a van. He admitted possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was given a 16 week suspended jail sentence and ordered to do 100 hours unpaid work.
Source: BBC, 11 February 2010
FINANCIAL COST TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
Senior Police Officers have expressed their concerns regarding the financial cost of responding to call outs to firearms incidents which ultimately are found to be imitation, replica and bb guns etc. This happens when members of the public alert local Police when they see individuals brandishing guns in public. The cost of these operations, including scrambling police helicopters, and armed response officers is currently met by taxpayers, not the perpetrators who waste police resources by their use of imitation/bb etc. guns.
For example:
Two men aged 17 and 20 were arrested when they sparked a police firearms operation in Upperthorne, Sheffield. The culprits were carrying an imitation weapon and were issued with a formal caution.
Source: The Star, 10 November 2010
A man seen carrying a weapon and wearing a bulletproof vest on a Tube train in central London was an employee of a "laser tag" game firm in his work outfit and the weapon was a laser gun. Armed police had been called to Waterloo station and the man was spoken to "vary sternly".
Source: BBC 8 October 2010
Paramedics who spotted a gun while treating a man who had experienced breathing difficulties at his flat in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, raised the alarm. Armed police surrounded the block of flats for five hours. The weapon was a ball-bearing gun which the man used to frighten animals. A police spokesman said they could not afford to take chances when the safety of the public was at risk. "When you are looking down the barrel of a gun not even an expert would be able to tell you if it is a replica or not. Everything is treated as if it's the real thing."
Source: This is Kent 20 August 2010
Armed police swooped on an industrial estate in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, after receiving reports of a 13-year-old brandishing a gun in the back of a car. The gun was a toy weapon which was being waved around in the back of his father's car.
Source: Burton Mail 26 June 2010
Three juveniles were arrested after a police helicopter was scrambled and armed police called after reports of a man waving a gun in the centre of Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire. The gun turned out to be an imitation handgun, but the response caused much of the village to be brought to a standstill.
Uttoxeter Advertiser, 11 December 2009
RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT THE DANGERS OF HAVING IMITATION, BB AND REPLICA WEAPONS
Children, young people and adults who have these sort of guns often do not understand the risks they face when playing with their guns in public. Some constabularies are so concerned about this issue they have created presentations and demonstrations and visit schools in campaigns to raise awareness. They talk about the difficult decisions armed officers have to take when faced with someone brandishing a weapon which may or may not be 'real' and remind children and young people that the guns used by Armed Response Officers are always 'real'.
Families and victims of gun incidents have become involved in awareness raising presentations in schools. South Yorkshire Police now include a DVD made by a local victim. The DVD provides an insight into the way gun incidents impact upon families and about the consequences of serious long term injuries.
The exellent work being done by several Police teams in schools may well be having an effect. The number of armed response call outs which result in the apprehension of young people with imitation etc guns has fallen significantly in some areas.
For example:
"Derbyshire police attended fewer incidents involving firearms in the last year compared to five years ago and senior officers believe this is due in part to anti gun campaigns run by the force in schools, tougher legislation and the 'Gunsafe' campaign which encourages traders not to sell bb/imitation weapons. In 2007-08, armed response officers attended 32 incidents where knives and replica or toy guns were recovered, compared to 61 incidents in 2002-03. They attended 18 incidents where air pistols or rifles were seized compared to 43 in 2002-03. In 2002-03, officers recovered 26 shotguns and other prohibited weapons, compared to 19 in 2007-08. Officers arrested 137 offenders in 2002-03 and 103 in 2007-08.
|
|
Replicas, Blank firing, BB Guns, Knives |
Air rifles, pistols, gas propelled weapons |
Shotguns, Sect. 1, Sect 5, Prohibited Weapons |
Offender Arrested |
|
2002/03 |
61 |
43 |
26 |
137 |
|
2003/04 |
72 |
39 |
25 |
153 |
|
2004/05 |
49 |
52 |
22 |
197 |
|
2005/06 |
41 |
31 |
10 |
163 |
|
2006/07 |
27 |
29 |
5 |
89 |
|
2007/08 |
32 |
18 |
19 |
103 |
(Source Derbyshire Constabulary. August 08)
IMITATION GUNS FUEL THE FEAR OF CRIME
The large numbers of imitation/bb/replica/guns in our society fuels fear of gun crime. Victims faced with a criminal holding an imitation/bb/replica gun do not know it is an imitation and the criminal intends the victim to believe it is capable of killing and injuring. Victims therefore may suffer psychological trauma, even if there is no physical injury.
To read about incidents involving imitation/bb/replica gun misuse click on 'Reported Incidents' and from the 'Issue type' option select 'bb/imitation'. To find out more about imitation/bb and replica guns hover on 'Gun types' and select 'Imitations'
