What would you do if you found a gun?
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."
Ahhhh......George Bush. The shoes missed but maybe....
I would make sure that its in working conition...then hand it to the cops...
I was thinkin the same Snessy...
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I belong to the oldest civilization on earth....from the land of dreams and Romance
I think it's a pretty rough penalty even if he was in the wrong. His intentions were in the right place and people don't always think straight in these situations. I had a friend who found a human skull when hiking and picked it up and put it in his back pack and actually carried it back to our house so we could confirm it was in fact a human skull (f-ing thing stunk). The police gave him a royal bollocking for moving it, but they didn't charge him with tampering or anything, which they could have. His intentions were in the right place, he was just an idiot.
Handling any suspicious object or package is not a wise move. He should have contacted the local police as soon as he noticed it due to the following reasons:
1. Unauthorized possession of firearm leads to legal actions
2. Tampering proof(finger prints)inadvertently by physically handling the object.
There's definitely more to this story than meets the eye!
*****If you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all*****
.i wonder if a very good lawyer can still help him.
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I too was a little curious.
I mean, If you found a bin liner at the bottom of your garden, would you open it there and then or carry it into your house first ?
aha!so this happens everywhere....and i thought it's an Indian phenomenon :-D u report a murder,you're the culprit;u report seeing an accident victim,you're the one who ran him down;u go and turn in some stolen goods you found on the road,"where did you steal it from,you %$%##*^*?" :-D LOL
Going to church no more makes you a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car. ~ Garrison Keillor
I still don't understand why he didn't call the police straight away, why wait until the next day? I wouldn't want the gun in my house.
*****If you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all*****
Political Correction gone mad?
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"HE WHO DARES WINS"
Derek Edward Trotter
Wow, way to tell people they shouldn't report or hand in weapons! Poor guy!
Phone the police
Absolutely ridiculous.......UK law gone mad. Perhaps he should have just left it there for some kids to find it and play with it.......
'Up there for thinking....down there for dancing.'
Chalk another one up for the British Justice System.
I hope that the Judge will give him a suspended sentence at the most.
keep it in showcase with rest of the guns.