Wolverhampton teenager caught with loaded gun in pouch
A 17-year-old youth from Wolverhampton has been locked up for over three years after being found with a revolver and six live rounds of ammunition.
The alarming find came after two police officers called at an address in William Harper Road, Willenhall in a bid to make an unrelated arrest, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
They discovered that a person had run away from the property and thought it might be the suspect so searched the area.
The youth was spotted outside a taxi office in nearby Gypsy Lane but he was not the person they were looking for, explained Mr Gerry Bermingham, prosecuting.
The defendant was very polite and shook hands with the officers but then walked back into William Harper Road where he appeared to be taking an interest in a particular house, continued the prosecutor.
They approached him again and noticed that he was becoming agitated.
Mr Bermingham revealed: “When asked why he replied that he had a loaded gun in his pouch.”
He was arrested and the gun was taken for analysis by an expert who confirmed that it was in working order and the ammunition fitted it.
It is unclear where the youth had got the weapon from but one theory is that he was harbouring it for a gang member.
The youth, who can’t be named because of his age, admitted illegal possession of the revolver and ammunition and was sentenced to three years four months detention in a Young Offenders Institution.
