Britain...really? Ex-soldier faces jail time for finding a firearm and turning it in.

[Gelgoog]

I am just speechless at the stupidity of british law enforcement and their judicial system....seriously wtf??

A former soldier who handed a discarded shotgun in to police faces at least five years imprisonment for "doing his duty".

Paul Clarke, 27, was found guilty of possessing a firearm at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday – after finding the gun and handing it personally to police officers on March 20 this year.

The jury took 20 minutes to make its conviction, and Mr Clarke now faces a minimum of five year's imprisonment for handing in the weapon.

In a statement read out in court, Mr Clarke said: "I didn't think for one moment I would be arrested.

"I thought it was my duty to hand it in and get it off the streets."

The court heard how Mr Clarke was on the balcony of his home in Nailsworth Crescent, Merstham, when he spotted a black bin liner at the bottom of his garden.

In his statement, he said: "I took it indoors and inside found a shorn-off shotgun and two cartridges.

"I didn't know what to do, so the next morning I rang the Chief Superintendent, Adrian Harper, and asked if I could pop in and see him.

"At the police station, I took the gun out of the bag and placed it on the table so it was pointing towards the wall."

Mr Clarke was then arrested immediately for possession of a firearm at Reigate police station, and taken to the cells.

Defending, Lionel Blackman told the jury Mr Clarke's garden backs onto a public green field, and his garden wall is significantly lower than his neighbours.

He also showed jurors a leaflet printed by Surrey Police explaining to citizens what they can do at a police station, which included "reporting found firearms".

Quizzing officer Garnett, who arrested Mr Clarke, he asked: "Are you aware of any notice issued by Surrey Police, or any publicity given to, telling citizens that if they find a firearm the only thing they should do is not touch it, report it by telephone, and not take it into a police station?"

To which, Mr Garnett replied: "No, I don't believe so."

Prosecuting, Brian Stalk, explained to the jury that possession of a firearm was a "strict liability" charge – therefore Mr Clarke's allegedly honest intent was irrelevant.

Just by having the gun in his possession he was guilty of the charge, and has no defence in law against it, he added.

But despite this, Mr Blackman urged members of the jury to consider how they would respond if they found a gun.

He said: "This is a very small case with a very big principle.

"You could be walking to a railway station on the way to work and find a firearm in a bin in the park.

"Is it unreasonable to take it to the police station?"

Paul Clarke will be sentenced on December 11.

Judge Christopher Critchlow said: "This is an unusual case, but in law there is no dispute that Mr Clarke has no defence to this charge.

"The intention of anybody possessing a firearm is irrelevant."

http://www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/n...l/article.html

[eggthief]

He should have kept it at home, for his son to take it to school and shoot his bullies with....

No really, what happened to Britain? Thought bureacracy wasn't that bad out there?

[Carach]

He should have kept it at home, for his son to take it to school and shoot his bullies with....

No really, what happened to Britain? Thought bureacracy wasn't that bad out there?

tonnes of things that should never make it to court .. do...and waste all our taxpayers money.

its GRRREAT!

tho lols @ the anti-gun conspiracy that lingers in the shadows of the country's media outlets.

[Farnan]

What the ?

[Digbert]

WTF is happing to my country

[Atterdag]

Yup we got kinda the same retarded rule here in Denmark (albeit concerning knives). It's a disgrace.

[CDMan477]

I thought you could still get your hands on shotguns in Britain? Albeit, this one was sawed-off.

[Simon Cashmere]

I thought you could still get your hands on shotguns in Britain? Albeit, this one was sawed-off.

Bit hard to say you were hunting pheasant with a sawn off.

I'm glad to say that at least in Australia, no jury would convict you on such a stupid charge. But for how much longer, I wonder.

[justicar5]

I thought you could still get your hands on shotguns in Britain? Albeit, this one was sawed-off.

yes you can, and bolt action rifles including bolt action variants of semi-autos, but sawn offs are a major no-no.

[eggthief]

I do find the fact that he 'found' a shotgun in his yard a bit suspicious if I may say so.

[danzig]

I do find the fact that he 'found' a shotgun in his yard a bit suspicious if I may say so.

Maybe but maybe someone tossed it in his yard to get rid of it but regardless he wouldnt just waltz into a police station with it to turn it over if there was something odd with him going on, that would just be stupid

The stupidity of "rules" never ceases to amaze me, the minn guy who was fired after stopping a thief from robbing the store, the off duty rescue worker fired for jumping in a river to rescue someone, this incident. Never seems to be a shortage of mind boggling stupidity.

[Koelkastmagneet]

There might be more to this then the article let's on, but still.

(this smiley has never been more appropriate)

[Captain Jin]

Wow, that is bafflingly retarded.

[Prodigal]

Only in Britain. See what nanny states turn into?

EDIT: Then again, I could also see it in several EU countries and Australia.

[removeduser_487563287433]

Is there any source for this other than a provincial paper? Obviously if true this would be a massive miscarriage of justice and would be covered by a major organ of the press.

[Barry Ferguson]

There's got to be more to that. Also, strict liablility offences carry an immediate penalty to discourage people from later claiming they had an honest intent, when they didn't really.

When he phoned the police, did he tell them he had found a gun? The article gives the impression that he did not.

[6th Vigil]

If this is true than it is indeed retarded but I would rather wait for a full picture. I feel this article is in want of more details.

[Azog 150]

If this is exactly what happened, then its a disgrace.

However, I feel there is much more to it then this. He 'found' a sawn-off in his garden, then proceeded to phone the police but not tell them about the sawn-off, then waltzed into a police station with a sawn-off in his bag.....

Basically, I don't think we are getting the whole picture. If this really was the case, I think we would have seen it in a national newspaper.

[Markas]

Wait, he found a shotgun with cartridges, put it in a bag, asked to see the Chief Superintendent and then proceeded to put it on the desk in front of him. What the hell was he thinking?

[MathiasOfAthens]

Yeah he made a stupid ing mistake, but still after investigating they still charged him, WTF.