RADFORD MAN SHOT HIMSELF WITH GUN HE FOUND

[Standard Dave]

09:21 - 09 June 2008

A Man accidentally blasted himself in the arm with a shotgun he found inside a bag.

Ryan Blacknell, 25, said a friend asked him to look after the bag and he did not know what was inside.

But when he looked inside the bag the gun went off because it was faulty, he said.


Nottingham Crown Court heard emergency services received a 999 call after a loud bang was heard from Juniper Court, Forest Road West, Radford, on April 5 last year.

A man was seen, bleeding, leaving the premises.

Blacknell was admitted to the Queen's Medical Centre at 3.20pm.

He had a wound of 20 to 30cm in his left forearm, with damage to bone, muscles and tendon.

Ian Way, prosecuting, said Blacknell needed surgery and spent eight weeks in hospital.

"At the time armed police attended the scene.

"On entering the flat they found significant blood splattering in the living room.

"A sawn-off double-barrel shotgun was in the wheelie bin of the neighbouring property covered in blood.

"It was a Winchester Pigeon 12-bore side-by-side shotgun.

"The safety catch was defective."

A search of the flat found two live shotgun cartridges.

The ceiling was damaged with shotgun pellets and there was also damage to a door and a coat hanging on it.

Investigators concluded two shots were fired and there were two spent cartridges in the gun.

It was found that both barrels could have been fired accidently.

"The injury was self-inflicted by the unintentional discharge of a faulty shotgun," said Mr Way.

When police visited Blacknell in hospital he made no comment.

Officers managed to establish the flat belonged to his girlfriend at the time.

Blacknell said he was the victim of a shooting but would not elaborate for fear of reprisals from those involved.

Adrian Langdale, defending, said Blacknell had the weapon for a day.

"It was fired without any pull on the trigger. Little did he know the firearm would discharge on him with catastrophic injuries."

Judge Joan Butler, QC, said she took an exceptional course with the leniency of the sentencing because Blacknell was injured and because of the short amount of time he had the weapon.

He said: "The gun was clearly faulty and you had no way of knowing it would go off when you put it on the floor."

He pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited firearm, accepting he was custodian of the bag.

Blacknell was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Nottingham Evening Post

[sgtbear111]

A sawed off Winchester Pigeon 12ga side by side? Wonder if the coppers found a hack saw and metal chips? Dip-shit got it from a "friend"? Yeah, that's got to be bottom line truth..............Sawing a pigeon grade is a crime in UK, or just poor judgment?

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/SearchResults.asp

Parliament must now outlaw hack-saws, or require registry and a licence to possess a hack-saw and blades.

Can see where the puke's lawyer is going with the defective safety, the person it was stolen from likely has a few bucks, pounds, rubles, or shekels. Is a Euro real money ?

[Xiphos]

Two and a half years in prison? Holy crap!