An Angus man caught hoarding “police” stun guns has been given a five-year prison sentence.
Thomas Scott bought the weapons – disguised as torches – from an online shop and told police he did not know they were illegal.
Legislation requires a minimum five-year sentence for possession of such weapons.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard how the 54-year-old, who has a background of mental health issues, believed his home was at risk of being invaded.
Scott has now been jailed after he previously pled guilty to possessing the powerful weapons.
Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown said: “I do not consider the background amounts to exceptional circumstances which would require me to move away from the mandatory sentence.
“You will be sentenced to five years imprisonment.”
Property search
The court heard police searched Scott’s home after a tip-off.
“They traced the accused with his mother and two nephews,” fiscal depute Kirsten Letford said previously.
“They began to give him advice on their legality.
“The accused immediately started to panic and said he did not know it was illegal and had purchased them from what he believed to be a legitimate website.
“A search of his property found three stun guns disguised as torches in his bedroom.”
Forensic scientists analysed the weapons and deemed them to be battery-operated stun guns capable of emitting a high-powered electric charge and incapacitating someone.
Mrs Letford revealed how each stun gun was marked with the word “police” and was likely to be of Asian origin.
‘Website was legitimate’
Scott, of Primrose Street, Carnoustie, admitted having three stun guns disguised as torches on December 10 2017.
John Boyle, defending Scott in Dundee, previously said that his client had an extensive background of mental health issues, including paranoid schizophrenia.
He said: “Paranoid delusions led him to believe he was at risk of home invasion and purchased these items to protect himself. He had no intention of using them.
“His comments about not knowing it to be illegal was correct from his point of view.
“He accepts ignorance is no excuse and the website was legitimate.”
Other stun gun crimes
The purchase of such weapons carries with it a mandatory minimum prison term, which can be reduced with an early guilty plea.
In September, Kirriemuir joiner Christopher Nicol was jailed for 40 months for having stun gun devices disguised as torches.
Aberdeen man Simon Warren pled guilty to having a stun gun torch and a pink lipstick stun gun and was jailed for five years in December.
On Monday, HGV driver Graeme McMurray, who bought a stun gun for his protection after being attacked by illegal migrants in France was, jailed for 18 months at the High Court in Glasgow.
McMurray, 40, from Denny, bought the weapon for £15 on the internet and received a free pepper spray with his purchase.
The items were found during a search of his lorry at Cairnryan on November 5.
