A gunman who brought terror when he stood in a road aiming a rifle at oncoming cars was jailed for 16 months today.
Gary Mann was told by the judge that the public would expect nothing less than an immediate prison sentence for his actions in Stockton as schools emptied for the day.
The 24-year-old was having problems with his depression medication when he took the air rifle in its case to a bus stop in Harrowgate Lane, Bishopsgarth, Stockton, at 3.30pm on Tuesday, November 4.
He unzipped the bag, produced the rifle and then stood in the carriageway forcing motorists to drive around him.
Prosecutor Sue Jacobs told Teesside Crown Court: “He aimed it at motorists driving towards him.”
She said that one man who had his wife in the car thought that he might have to drive over Mann to protect her.
When they got home his wife vomited and suffered chest pains, fearing an angina attack.
Another driver who had picked up three children from school said that if Mann had fired it would have gone through his car and possibly hit him or the children.
Mann and his father used the air rifle to shoot vermin and they had targets set up in their garden.
But a Cleveland Police firearms expert who examined it said that it was broken.
The incident sparked a major police alert as officers hunted for Mann after receiving reports of a man with a gun.
Armed officers searched two buses on Stockton High Street, including a number 59 bus, which runs from Harrowgate Lane into the town centre.
Bishopsgarth School was put into lockdown, with 50 children told to remain inside after staff were told of someone carrying a weapon.
Mann, a depressive with a drink problem, was arrested on November 5 as searches were carried out at his semi-detached home in Leam Lane, close to Harrowgate Lane.
Police officers could be seen bringing out a rifle from the boot of a car parked outside his home (video), which was then taken away.
Mrs Jacobs said that Mann appeared to have problems with alcohol because he had two convictions for drink driving and criminal damage.
Alex Bousfield, defending, said that Mann had no clear memory of the incident, but he accepted that it could have caused fear. Earlier he had taken his dog for a walk and had drunk three cans of lager.
A psychiatrist said that he had symptoms of a psychiatric illness, but he did not present a future threat now that his medication was under control.
Mr Bousfield said: “He did express remorse and he was able to convince the psychiatrist that he is now under the control of his medication.
“It’s not particularly clear why he did what he did, he is not able to explain it.
“It is an offence which could have had far-reaching consequences if the weapon had been capable of being fired. But I would urge it is not an incident as bad as it first appeared.”
INCIDENTS ON TEESSIDE 
Police in Stockton High Street carrying out searches
The judge Recorder Felicity Davies told Mann: “What is particularly of concern to the court is that it is not clear what was going through your mind at the time that you behaved in this fashion.
“What is significant about your previous convictions is that two of them have to do with alcohol and they do indicate that you have a problem with alcohol, and I have come to the conclusion that alcohol has played a part here but it is not possible to discern exactly what.”
The judge added: “This is an offence that is so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence must be passed. The public would expect nothing else for an offence of this nature.
“In my view this case is of more concern because there is no clear explanation for your behaviour and the fear which you created likely to arise in anyone who was in the area.”
Mann was jailed for 16 months with £100 victim surcharge after he pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
No comments:
Post a Comment