Dad used toy pistol to send gang packing

Dad used toy pistol to send yobs packing

DAD who sent a gang of threatening yobs packing when he cocked and pointed a TOY pistol at them has appeared before a court and placed under supervision.

Sean Jones brandished the toy weapon at a gang who were being abusive to protect his family because he feared for their safety.

There was a history of hostility between Jones, 23, and a member of the gang who were shouting abuse at his flat and beckoning for him to come down and fight.

Now Jones, of Stourbridge, West Midlands, has been placed under a supervision order.

Judge Michael Dudley at Wolverhampton Crown Court told him it was a "wholly exceptional" case involving possession of an imitation firearm and stressed he had done something "anyone might have done."

But the judge added: "Although it was an imitation firearm it contained missiles that could be fired and it had the desired effect because they disappeared."

"You were in a position where you could almost claim self defence.

"You had been threatened in the past and, on this occasion, they were outside your flat shouting and being intimidating."

Samantha Powis, defending Jones, said he was "not a bad man" and he did not have a history of violence.

She told the court Jones was with his partner and their small child in the flat when the man leading the gang and his cronies started being abusive.

Miss Powis said: "That night they put him in such fear for the safety of his family that he did what he did.

"It was his intention to do no more than scare them away.

"They had been making it quite clear to him just what they would do if he did not come down and fight. It was a toy pistol that had been painted black to make it look real."

Miss Powis said Jones accepted he cocked and pointed the pistol through a window and it had the desired effect.

She added: "He is now relieved to know the main complainant has left the area but he still fears reprisals from this man.

"He reacted to violence that was brought to his door. He was not taking potshots at members of the public - he is a man who has never hurt anyone."

David Lees, prosecuting, said when examined by a firearms expert the gun was found to be a plastic air pistol that was capable of firing plastic pellets.

http://www.newstoday.co.uk/2348/2011/08/dad-used-toy-pistol-to-send-yobs-packing/