Posted on 10/30/2006 12:48:22 PM PST by kiriath_jearim
A PENSIONER who held an illegal arsenal of more than 100 guns at his home has been jailed for five years.
Retired rail worker William Charles Hughes, 66, had earlier admitted two charges of selling illegal firearms and 13 of possessing illegal guns.
Police found 111 weapons while the Army had to dispose of a deactivated grenade at his home in Gwersyllt, Wrexham.
His barrister told Caernarfon Crown Court "the world was a very different place" when Hughes' interest began.
Hughes also had 24 shotguns and 37 rifles at his house.
He also admitted a charge of possessing ammunition.
Police raided Hughes' house in June and found an arsenal of illegal guns, some of which were hidden in a false water tank in the attic.
One of the 37 handguns found was loaded and there was also a deactivated grenade which an army bomb disposal team was called in to make safe.
Hughes also admitted selling two guns, including a semi automatic pistol to another collector.
Prosecutor Ed Beltrami said Hughes told police that he was a member of a gun club but the illegal weapons did not leave his house.
He added: "He left the firearms around the house because he didn't have enough secure cabinets in which to store them."
Simon Medland, defending Hughes, said his client never had any intention of using the guns and the law had changed since he started collecting, particularly after the Dunblane school shootings in 1996. He added: "This is the first time he's been before the courts.
"When Mr Hughes began his interest in firearms the world was a very different place in its approach to guns."
Some of the guns dated back to the 18th and 19th Centuries and a large number of weapons at the property were held legally, the court heard.
But Judge John Rogers said Hughes had been aware of the change in the law on guns and sentenced him to five years in jail.
He told him: "You, I'm sure, now appreciate the gravity of storing at your home so many prohibited firearms and ammunition."
Around here, this guy would just be a small-time hobbyist.
"the Army had to dispose of a deactivated grenade"
I guess they would not approve of the "complaints" statue on my desk. (Has the number one under the pin.)
"Around here, this guy would just be a small-time hobbyist."
Around here the local SWAT team would have used him as a PR stunt.
a Brit with the stones to make the country Muzzie free and they bust him for it.
Around here, that guy would be my dad.
He admitted to having ammunition.................snicker
Er...if the grenade was deactivated, what did the EOD have to do to make it safe? Tie a little ribbon around it?
No such thing as "illegal firearms" so long as the second amendment exists.
Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
What part of "the people" and "shall not" is unclear here?
Slacker! ;^)
Sad...
A testament to why the 2nd Amendment is such a treasured right for Americans.
And Western Civilization takes one more swirl 'round the toilet bowl.
How much does one get paid to "make safe" dummy grenades?
If it includes benefits please send me an application (it will be much easier than what I'm doing now!)
It's the UK, where the common people are "subjects" instead of citizens.
A couple of weeks ago the headline screamed about a deactivated AK-47 that "could have been repaired for about 220 pounds". You could probably buy a new one for less.
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