Ex-soldier faces jail for handing in gun

Ex-soldier faces jail for handing in gun

www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk

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.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is terrible that the courts and jury couldn't use more common sense. Paul Clarke finds a gun in his back yard and turns it in to the police and now is going to prison for at least five years! I can't believe it has come to this. The first thing I would have done is take it to the police.

If any of you guys see a gun, you better keep walking! This is just sad that an ex-soldier has to go thru this thinking he is doing the right thing.

www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk (visit the link for the full news article)

The answer to this? Find a gun? Keep it! Hide it. Purchase ammunation, on the sly, and keep it hidden. Never know when TSHTF and you need a back up weapon to throw away after you done some evil deed.

reply to post by kettlebellysmith


5 years for turning in a firearm?

Wow I had to read the story several times. Then I realized this was in the UK. Not much I can do. Hopefully someone out there can bring justice to this situation in any way.

Poor guy. I'd had hid it... Under my bed. Guns are like Gold around here.

That town's court system seems to be filled with troglodytes who make dumb decisions.

If I was him and I got out, I'd be out of that # town so fast.

[edit on 13-11-2009 by star in a jar]

Please remember.....

The subjects of UK Have been disarmed.

It is illegal to own or poses a gun.

That said, I think it is beyond stupid.
I guess in UK, like the US, the police are not there to "protect and serve"

They are there to "Punish and Enslave" as was shown on cop car in transformers movie.

Truly bad show, UK.

Very Sad....

If the gun was indeed found buried, theres a good chance that it wouldn't function correctly and could cause more damage to the owner or someone else finding it.
I would think that the condition of the gun should have proven this and could have been used in his defense.

Too bad though about this individual, sounds as if he didn't have very competent legal representation if any at all.

With tyrranical laws like this....it's no wonder the Pilgrims came to America !

He hasnt been sentenced..........

Just so as long as there are no other bits to the story that we havnt heard (like what he may have done with it between finding it and handing it in) then he'll be fine and maybe even get a commendation of some sort.

The police are not able to change the law as they see fot and have to act in line with what it says.

The CPS on the other hand make decisions about what goes to court and dont usually make a decision to go to court unless they have a good chance of a conviction, even a judge can stop a trial if they think there is no case to answer which suggests there may be more to this story.....although it could just be due process and the outcome may prove more telling.

Is this truly the world we live in today? Where is common sense? The things happening in the U.K. can't be far from the shores of the U.S. if we don't keep up our guard. WAKE Up people before it's to late!!!

Originally posted by mrmonsoon
Please remember.....

The subjects of UK Have been disarmed.

It is illegal to own or poses a gun.

That said, I think it is beyond stupid.
I guess in UK, like the US, the police are not there to "protect and serve"

They are there to "Punish and Enslave" as was shown on cop car in transformers movie.

Truly bad show, UK.

Absolutely not true. I've got a shotgun upstairs. Perfectly legal thank you. And the police here are not charged with having to "protect and serve", rather "keeping the peace".

There's more to this story than meets the eye. I await a more thorough report.

reply to post by mrmonsoon


The subjects of the UK were not disarmed. Only a very small fraction of the population held firearms licenses prior to the banning of certain shotguns / rifles and, shortly thereafter, handguns. These were limited to sporting shooters only, not openly for home defence etc as is the case in the US.
Rifle and shotgun licenses are still available for sports shooters, hence all the nice hardware on display at many of the country and fieldsports events across the country every year.

The real disarmament of the population goes waaaaay back - a century or more I think, when the peasants really did have weapons with which to rise up against oppression and criminal treatment.

reply to post by Mudman21


Well if i found the gun -i wpould keep to defend myself against the clear stupidity demonstrated by that court system -good grief

Option A) Turn it over to the police(right thing to do).
Option B) Let some kid find it and shoot someone accidentally.

really hard choice. I guess the courts figure option B is the way to go.
Sad Sad world.

I realy hope this gets thrown out of court this country is finished if this type of crazy buerocratic $hit is alloud to go un challenged.

You can own a shotgun with a license.

But this story takes the biscuit. What exactly is his threat to society?

Absolutely disgusting...

One where did the shotgun come from. planted by the cops???/

Did the cops have some reason they wanted to frame this guy????

What a better way to do it then throw a gun in his yard and when he call to turn it in arrest him.

I know if i found a gun in my yard i would be temped to check it out before calling the cops.
I might even hide it for a few days and carefully watch the news for any refrance to any guns used in crimes locally or stolen guns.

Oh i would not touch the gun without rubber surgical gloves so later if i found i need to turn it in my prints would not be on it.

I wonder if this guy found the gun and played with it from a day or two before turning it in leaving his fingerprints all over it and that is why the cops busted him.

Worst yet is that he had served his country as a soldier. A man who clearly knows how to handle a firearm safely to bring it to a place to be disposed of. Thats pretty ass backwards legal system... then again the US isnt much different

Originally posted by kettlebellysmith
The answer to this? Find a gun? Keep it! Hide it. Purchase ammunation, on the sly, and keep it hidden. Never know when TSHTF and you need a back up weapon to throw away after you done some evil deed.

i agree with you, haha. if i was to find a gun, i would add it to my collection! i would be making a trip for some ammo the next day.