A man has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for pointing an air rifle at his elderly neighbour and laughing after pulling the trigger, a court has heard.
Ian Stacey, 46, of St David's Road, Tairgwaith, Gwaun-cae-Gurwen, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. The incident took place on May 25 this year in Tairgwaith, Neath Port Talbot.
What happened
Brian Simpson, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that the victim parked his car near his house and got out. Standing nearby was Stacey, who was with a number of other men. As the pensioner made his way to his front door, Stacey — wearing just a pair of pink shorts — raised an air rifle to his shoulder and pointed it at him, looking down the weapon's sight directly at the victim. Stacey then pulled the trigger, causing a loud banging noise, before laughing.
The court heard that as the startled pensioner entered his house he heard Stacey talking to the men with him about "blowing his brains out". Stacey and the other men were then seen pointing the weapon up and down the street.
Arrest and investigation
Police were called and Stacey was arrested in the street a short time later. In his subsequent interview he gave officers a prepared statement in which he denied pointing the weapon at his neighbour, saying he had instead been pointing it at the sky. He also called his neighbour a "rat" and said the pair did not get on.
The weapon was seized and later examined and found to be a spring-loaded air rifle. Due to its muzzle velocity it was classed as a firearm, though no certificate was needed to own one.
Victim impact
In a statement read to the court, the victim said he had struggled to sleep since the incident and suffers flashbacks where he can see the rifle being pointed at him. He said he had been left too scared to walk to his weekly bingo game, adding: "I feel more vulnerable that I ever have".
Jon Tarrant, for Stacey, said his client was "something of a loner" and had been showing off to those he was with and "perhaps acting somewhat the fool". He said Stacey wanted to make it clear that the comments his neighbour heard were not directed at him but were made about others. The barrister said Stacey had spent 161 days on remand, and that custody "has had a salutatory effect" on him.
Sentence
Judge Catherine Richards said Stacey would be unable to return home and would effectively be homeless if he was immediately released from custody. She said given the risk the defendant poses to his neighbour, his mental health difficulties, and his housing situation she thought he would be better managed by release licence conditions which could be put in place.
Stacey was sentenced to 20 months in prison. He will serve a third of that sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. He was also made subject to a five-year restraining order banning him from contacting his former neighbour.
