Friday, December 15, 2023

A man caught with a loaded handgun following a drugs raid at his home in Leeds has been given a 16-year sentence.

Officers from the Leeds East Neighbourhood Policing Team executed a Misuse of Drugs Act warrant at 21-year-old Cameron Collier’s address on June 4 this year.
During a search of the property, officers found a handgun under the wardrobe in his bedroom.

It was initially thought to be a BB gun, but firearms officers were called to the scene to check the weapon and noted it appeared to be a viable firearm which was loaded.

Expert forensic examination established it was a blank-firing pistol converted to fire ammunition that had been modified with steel ball bearings. It had one round in the chamber ready to fire and two in its magazine.

The firearms offences were investigated by specialist detectives from Leeds District Leeds District Programme Precision Team, which targets serious and organised crime. Collier was subsequently charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition.

He had previously been charged with Section 18 wounding with intent in relation to an incident in Garforth on May 14, 2021, where he stabbed an 18-year-old man. He was also charged with possession of a kitchen knife.

On June 11, 2021, he was stopped in car in Hunslet and found with about £800 of cannabis, £526 cash and an extendable baton. Cannabis was also found in a search of his address.

He was charged with possession with intent to supply a Class B drug, possession of a Class B drug and possession of an offensive weapon.

He was then arrested in the early hours of November 5 last year following a disturbance in Hirst’s Yard in the city centre which led to a group being chased through the city centre with a machete, and a modified blank-firing pistol being found after Collier was seen to throw a bag containing the weapon under a car.

He was charged with possession of a firearm and possession of a machete in relation to the incident.

Today at Leeds Crown Court he was sentenced to 13 years and four months imprisonment with a three-year extended licence period.

Detective Inspector Michael Herbert, who heads Leeds District Programme Precision Team, said: “Illegally held firearms and ammunition such as these have the potential to kill or cause serious injury and have absolutely no place in the hands of criminals.

“The criminal use of firearms is an issue that causes understandable concern in our communities, and I hope people will be reassured to know that a dangerous offender like Collier is now safely behind bars.”