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16
May
Jail for Harrogate man caught with weapons and ammunition
A notorious Harrogate man has been jailed for five years after police swooped on his home and found a stash of weapons and ammunition.
Charlie Nelson, 30, was arrested at the property in Woodfield View where he had hidden weapons including a modified shotgun or pistol, a Samurai sword and live and spent rounds of ammunition in and around outbuildings.
The weapons were seized for inspection and analysis confirmed that the handgun had been designed as a firearm, said prosecutor Kelly Clarke.
She added:
The firearm was found to be a modified shotgun that is a non-firing replica of a double-barrelled pistol.
The imitation handgun had been wrapped in plastic, “giving it the appearance of a sawn-off shotgun”.
Following his arrest, Nelson was searched and police found some cannabis on him.
He was charged with possessing a prohibited firearm, possession of an offensive weapon in a private place, namely the Samurai, possessing ammunition without a firearm certificate and possession of a Class B drug.
He admitted the offences and appeared for sentence today (May 16) after being remanded in custody.
Ms Clarke said that police swooped on the semi-detached property in Harrogate in October last year after receiving a tip-off that weapons were being stashed at the address which had outbuildings including a summer house in the garden in which Nelson was said to have been living.
She added:
A number of items were seized from various parts of the property including ammunition in a (gun) magazine, a modified shotgun in a bag at the rear of the summer house, and a barrel from a shotgun in the guttering of the garage.
Police also discovered a live round of ammunition and two spent rounds, as well as a gun case and a Samurai sword in the roof a wooden shed.
She said that Nelson, who became a father for the first time a few weeks ago, had 15 previous convictions for 37 offences including drug matters, harassment, acquisitive crime and damaging property. His last conviction was for a driving offence in 2022 which ultimately led to a prison sentence.
Defence barrister Laura Addy said that Nelson was “primarily” living at his partner’s address at the time and claimed the weapons had been “given to him to store”.
She added:
They were not his. He had no intention, nor wish, nor thought, that he would ever use those weapons.
Jailing Nelson for five years for the firearm offence at York Crown Court, judge Simon Hickey said:
Such a weapon is clearly capable of killing and the public is concerned about such weapons being available to criminals.
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