Man caught with rifle and five handguns at home jailed

A man who was caught with a cache of guns and ammunition which he claimed had been passed to him by his father has been jailed for five years.

A judge rejected a plea to spare Karl Matthews, 48, the minimum mandatory sentence set down by law for the possession of the prohibited firearms.

Police who searched the loft of his home in Castle Douglas found a rifle and five handguns along with bullets.

Lord Arthurson noted Matthews' defence that he inherited the guns following his father's death, but said they were stored together in "insecure conditions".

The judge told the High Court in Edinburgh: "This was not a single, long forgotten, antique weapon. Far from it."

He pointed out that he had pleaded guilty to13 firearms offences covering possession without a firearms certificate, possession of prohibited weapons and possession of cartridges without a firearms certificate.

Matthews had earlier admitted committing the offences on 10 August last year at an address at the town's Screel View.

The court heard that police obtained a warrant to search his home following information that he was in possession of guns.

During the search they entered the loft at the semi-detached house and saw two cases, two large holdalls and a rifle case and recovered the weapons and ammunition.

In an interview with officers, Matthews said his father had given him the guns and ammunition before his death three years ago.

He said he knew he should not have them but had never discharged any of the guns.

The court heard that the rifle was a Lee Enfield bolt-action rifle made about 1914, which was in good condition. All the guns were capable of firing bullets.

The handguns included a Smith & Wesson six-shot revolver, a Colt frontier six-shooter revolver and a Ruger MKII self-loading pistol.

Defence counsel Kevin Henry asked the judge to consider a non-custodial sentence, but acknowledged it was a serious case and argued it was one where a jail sentence short of the statutory minimum of five years' imprisonment could be imposed.

He maintained that there were exceptional circumstances which could allow the judge to proceed on that basis.

He said Matthews' position was that the guns and ammunition belonged to his father before they came into his possession.

He added that Matthews' father had been in the army and had an interest in firearms and held a firearms licence.

He said Matthews was assessed as posing a low risk of reoffending, had employment and accommodation available and had acted as carer to his daughter.

Advocate depute Anna Chisholm said the Crown's position was that there were no exceptional circumstances to be found.

She said the case involved prohibited weapons that were not stored securely.

The ammunition that was recovered could be used with the weapons. which appeared to be in working order.

She said that Matthews possessed the weapons for "a significant length of time" without taking steps to properly dispose of them, which included surrendering them to the police.