9:10pm Wednesday 17th March 2010
A former convict who claimed he found a sawn-off shotgun when he went to relieve himself in the woods has been jailed for four years.
Thomas Gregory told a court that he stumbled across the weapon in a small copse close to Barbury Castle when he was out walking with his mother.
And the 26-year-old said he was taking the gun to the police station when officers, who had been keeping him under covert surveillance, arrested him at the side of the road.
But Judge Douglas Field did not believe his story and ruled not only had he not stumbled upon the weapon by chance but also was not about to hand it in.
However, he did accept that the gun was in such a poor condition that it needed an expert to make it capable of firing.
Gregory, of Church Place, Swindon, had initially pleaded not guilty to a charge of possessing an altered firearm without a certificate on August 12 last year.
But he changed plea to guilty on the day of trial when the judge said his claim he was taking it to the police was not a lawful defence to the charge.
Instead of a jury hearing the case it was held before a judge who, after evidence was presented, ruled on whether what the defendant claimed was true.
Gregory said he had been going to meet a friend who was supplying him with anabolic steroids at his home in Wroughton.
Finding him that he was not in, he and his mum, who was driving him, decided to go for a country walk before the dealer returned, he claimed.
As he went into a small copse to relieve himself he said he found the weapon hidden in the undergrowth.
He was he took it back to the car and was taking it to police with his mum when they were stopped and he was arrested.
An officer in the covert team also gave evidence saying he was tailing Gregory, whom they thought was involved in drugs and weapons.
Marcus Davey, defending, pointed out that there was no ammunition with the weapon or at his client’s house.
He said Gregory had turned his life around since he was last in jail, getting married last year and taking on a job. In the past he has been involved in drugs and violence but said his last conviction was for an offence in June 2006.
Judge Field said: “In my judgement I have to ask the following questions. The first is what sort of firearm are we dealing with?
“The answer is a sawn-off shotgun but it is in a very poor condition and in the hands of person not skilled in the restoration of such weapons it would be unusable.
“The second is what, if any, use has been made of this firearm? The answer is certainly none by you. I then go to what was your intention; what was your intention in possessing it?
“This sawn off shotgun was a weapon fashioned in that way for use in violent and serious crime. I formed the view that if the situation arose you might use it.
“The last thing is what is your record? You do have convictions for violence and that aggravates the position.”
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