A father-of-four with an “unhealthy interest in weapons, Nazi and violence” has been jailed for six years after police found a haul of guns, knives, and other weapons at his Swansea home, and he tried to pressure his partner into lying to police.
Thomas Christopher Williams – known as Chris – was found with a Nazi dagger, samurai sword, crossbow, shotgun, and a banned handgun at the family home. After trying to emotionally blackmail his partner into lying to the police, the 46-year-old building contractor then attempted to talk his way out of trouble with a series of tales, including claiming he had the powerful gas-powered handgun to shoot seagulls on scaffolding.
Partner's report to police
Swansea Crown Court heard that in January last year, Williams' partner reported to police that the defendant had a collection of weapons in the house and had an “unhealthy fascination with weapons, Nazis and violence”, adding: “He loves to watch anything where people get hurt. He seems to get pleasure from watching people get hurt.”
In a statement, the woman said her partner kept a samurai sword in their bedroom – a weapon which she said he had told her was able to cut through a person – and said there was a shotgun in the attic and a handgun which she had last seen in the kitchen drawer. She said she wasn't sure what type of handgun it was but that “Chris told me that this could penetrate through someone’s skull”.
In her statement, the woman said her partner had never directly threatened her but the presence of the weapons and some of the comments he had made to her had made her feel “uncomfortable” and “on edge”.
Items seized from the home
Craig Jones, prosecuting, told the court that a day after the disclosure was made, police officers searched the family home in the Uplands area of Swansea and seized a number of items.
The court heard that in the attic officers found a Baikal 12-bore single-barrelled shotgun – a weapon which requires a licence to own – along with a non-functional air rifle. In the front bedroom officers found a sword in a sheath, a wooden bat, a black-handled knife in a scabbard, and a West Lake .177 spring-loaded air pistol.
In the kitchen officers found a dagger with a Nazi emblem on it and a gas-powered revolver with a .50 calibre capable of discharging various types of ammunition including metal balls, darts, rubber and plastic balls and pepper balls. The revolver is classed as a prohibited weapon under the Firearms Act 1968. A wooden-handled axe was also recovered from the property.
Attempts to change partner's story
After the seized items were examined and tested, Williams was charged with possession of the shotgun and handgun via post requisition on February 3 this year. The prosecutor said that the day after Williams received the letter from police he began to “cajole and emotionally blackmail” his partner – both over the phone and in face-to-face exchanges – and tried to get her to tell police that the statement she had previously given them was false.
The barrister said the defendant told his partner he was facing 30 years in prison as a result of what she had done, and he told her he needed her to help him by changing what she had originally told officers. One of the things Williams told his partner to say was that they had found the shotgun in the attic of the property when they moved in.
Thomas Williams, of Windsor Street, Uplands, Swansea, had previously pleaded to possession of a shotgun without a licence, possession of a prohibited weapon, and witness intimidation when he returned to the dock for sentencing. Following his pleas, a Newton hearing had been held in which Williams sought to explain the basis on which he had possession of the weapons. The defendant has no previous convictions.
Sentencing
Ryan Bowen, for Williams, said the father-of-four worked as a building contractor and he said a letter before the court spoke to the “good work” he had done in the community. The barrister said his client was “under no illusion” as to the gravity of the situation he was in and he asked the court to have in mind his lack of previous convictions, his guilty pleas, and the principle of totality of sentence.
Judge Paul Thomas KC said the defendant had kept a samurai sword, a Nazi-emblazoned dagger, a shotgun, and a prohibited handgun in the family home. He also said he was satisfied on the evidence heard during the Newton hearing that Williams had demonstrated the weapons in front of his children on at least one occasion.
The judge said after police seized the weapons Williams decided to try to “browbeat, emotionally blackmail, and badger” his partner into changing her story in an act of “blatant witness intimidation” but when that failed “plan B” was to give “wholly fictitious accounts” to the court including that he had found the shotgun in the attic when he bought the house and that he had the handgun to shoot seagulls. With discounts for his guilty pleas Williams was sentenced to six years in prison. He will serve two thirds of the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
