Man jailed for possessing loaded gun

A WEST Belfast man caught by police with a loaded handgun in his home has been jailed.

Gerard Burleigh (34), of Norfolk Road, was told he will spend a 27 months in prison and a further 27 months on licence after his release.

Burleigh pleaded guilty last December to possession of a firearm and ammunition in suspicious circumstances and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

He further admitted having the loaded Walther P99 without a certificate and having two tasers and a pepper spray.

However, after a trial last month he was acquitted of a charge of having the handgun with intent to endanger life.

Belfast Crown Court heard that police stopped Burleigh in August 2018 and during a follow up search of his home officers found a wash bag in a kitchen cupboard.

Inside was a Walther P99 wrapped up in tea towels. A forensic examination revealed it was loaded with a magazine which contained three bullets along with a silencer.

Police also recovered an imitation Glock pistol, two tasers and a pepper spray.

A Crown lawyer told Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland that although Burleigh was not charged, police also found a knuckle duster and an extendable baton.

He said Burleigh did not have the Walther P99 for any lawful purpose, adding: "He was more than a storeman. This was a case of ownership. The knuckle duster and expendable baton are indicative that he was a gatherer of weaponry.''

Defence barrister Joseph O'Keefe told the court that he had no instructions from Burleigh as to why the weaponry was in his home.

He said there was no DNA directly linking Burleigh to the gun and added there was only a "fleeting contact'' with the exterior of the washbag.

Sentencing Burleigh, Judge McFarland described the handgun as a "nasty bit of kit'.