Hull Crown Court heard how the gun had been converted to make it a ‘viable weapon’
A weapons collector was found with a potentially “lethal” gun that had been “converted to make it more dangerous” than before – by being able to fire a real bullet and not just blanks. The police found the firearm in a bedroom at his home after calling in an armed response unit and carrying out a search.
Guns enthusiast David Johnson had been spared prison a few years earlier for trying to obtain banned pistols but he ignored that warning and was caught again, Hull Crown Court heard. Johnson, 46, of 24th Avenue, north Hull, admitted possessing a prohibited firearm on August 15, 2022. He previously denied the offence but changed his plea to guilty on the day of a scheduled trial.
Maya Hanson, prosecuting, said that a pre-planned operation was launched after Johnson was identified as having bought a blank-firing gun. An armed response unit was sent to his home. Police arrived and Johnson was arrested.
His three-bedroom end-terrace home was searched and a handgun with a holster was found in a front bedroom. They were said to be in a wardrobe next to a window. “The door had been obstructed by motorbike tyres and clothing,” claimed Miss Hanson.
A firearm test was done and it was discovered that the gun had been converted to enable it to fire a bullet. It was capable of causing a “lethal injury” because of this, the court heard.
It had previously been capable of firing only blanks. “The firearm was converted to make it more dangerous,” said Miss Hanson.
Father-of-three Johnson had convictions for 85 previous offences between May 1995 and October 2018. He had been given an 18-month suspended prison sentence in October 2018 for attempting to acquire prohibited weapons, three gas alarm pistols.
The three pistols that he bought had been intercepted by Border Force and never got to Johnson. He had previously bought a pistol that he did receive, the court heard.
Defence barrister Oliver Shipley said that Johnson claimed that the firearm formed part of a collection of items that he had in the house. Johnson said that they included blank-firing pistols, muskets, musket pistols, two toy cannons, a crossbow and five swords.
“I have an interest in weaponry and history,” Johnson told the court. This dated “all the way back” to when he was aged two or three. Growing up in the 1980s meant that there were “no mobile phones”.
The first time he was given a metal sword was by a neighbour and that was the beginning of his interest. He said of his previous convictions: “I was in and out of prison. I was on the streets.
“I went in with the wrong crowd. I was stealing cars and stuff like that. I just wanted to fit in.” He worked as a bricklayer but, in 2008, he damaged his back while doing community service.
He and others were cutting trees down and they were told to try to catch a tree so that it did not damage a fence but the others “scarpered off” and he suffered damage to three discs in his back. “I couldn’t work, I couldn’t bodybuild any more,” he said.
He started a metal detecting club that raised money for charity and he started buying weapons, including an officer’s ceremonial sword, musket rifles and pistols.
Johnson said of the firearm found by police: “I’m a collector. I was going to mount it into a box. I had it for a good few months.” He claimed that he thought he was a “toy” and that he was being “careful” in light of his previous weapons conviction.
“I cut the barrel completely off it,” said Johnson. “Just the chamber was there. I was trying to destroy it. I heard on the grapevine that it was going to become illegal.
“I just wanted to get rid of it. There was no amnesty about at that time. The bullet can’t run through a barrel if it’s not there. I didn’t think it was a firearm. It was advertised as not a firearm.”
He admitted that he did not have a firearms certificate. He claimed that he took action to cut off the barrel because he had a dream in which he was jailed. The blade he used snapped.
If the blade had not snapped, he would have cut the gun into pieces, he claimed. He denied that the firearm was in a wardrobe with motorcycle tyres blocking the door.
“It wasn’t in the wardrobe,” he claimed. “It was only a bookshelf that rested on the wall. It was on the bottom shelf. The wardrobe wasn’t obstructed by tyres. I am not here to lie.
“There were no tyres or anything like that because all my motorbike tyres go in the garage.” The firearm was in the plastic case that it came in and it was inside an inner bag in the case.
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Recorder Geraldine Kelly KC said that she rejected Johnson’s evidence and it was “inconceivable” that he had the weapon “in ignorance” and that he wanted to display it as a toy. “It would have been readily apparent to you that it wasn’t a toy,” said Recorder Kelly.
The gun had been converted to make it a “viable weapon” and Johnson had “lied” in his evidence. Recorder Kelly rejected the claim that the gun was kept for “innocent reasons” and for adding to his collection.
“I am satisfied that you knew, when it was in your possession, that it was a prohibited weapon,” she said. There was a “pattern” in his offending shown by the previous conviction for weapons offences.
“It’s remarkable that you resumed this activity,” said Recorder Kelly. “This offence is so serious that only custody can be justified.”
Johnson, who had been on bail, was jailed for five years.