An SAS Soldier who kept a pistol from Falklands War as a trophy gets 15 months in prison - Polidicks

[IMG]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2016/04/15/Untitled-1-large_trans++eo_i_u9APj8RuoebjoAHt0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpg[/IMG] [QUOTE]A former SAS soldier has been jailed for 15 months for firearms offences. Albert Patterson, who served in the British Army for 22 years, had admitted illegally possessing a 9mm self-loading pistol and 177 rounds of ammunition suitable to be used with it. He also had four Enfield pistols, five rounds of expanding ammunition and a self-loading rifle part. Mr Patterson, who had served first with the Parachute Regiment and later in the Special Forces, said he'd taken the 9mm pistol from a captured Argentine officer during the Falklands War. He told the court he'd kept it in order to remember 22 of his friends and colleagues who'd died in the conflict.[/QUOTE] Sources: [URL="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3540966/SAS-hero-jailed-Falklands-War-gun-trophy-Former-soldier-sentenced-15-months-keeping-9mm-pistol-remind-22-friends-died-conflict.html"]The Daily Mail[/URL] [URL="http://www.forces.tv/71623693#.VxGVrgLgf1c"]Forces.tv[/URL] [URL="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/15/sas-falklands-veteran-jailed-for-keeping-pistol-to-remind-him-of/"]The Telegraph UK[/URL]

I would be more sympathetic if he didn't have the ammunition, though 15 months still sounds like too much.

Honestly, if he had it deactivated and didn't have the ammunition i would have no problem with the excuse of him keeping it in memory of his friends.

Release this man immediately, holy fuck

The fact that English law forced this situation on this man is atrocious. This is the kind of thing that gun control ends up doing, not stopping real criminals.

[QUOTE=FlashMarsh;50145503]I would be more sympathetic if he didn't have the ammunition, though 15 months still sounds like too much.[/QUOTE] Maybe the ammo was for one of his other pistols since it just says it's suitable for the pistol. (which he had legally)

[QUOTE=rider695;50145524]Maybe the ammo was for one of his other pistols since it just says it's suitable for the pistol. (which he had legally)[/QUOTE] This is in England, there's no such thing as a legal pistol.

[QUOTE=DaCommie1;50145539]This is in England, there's no such thing as a legal pistol.[/QUOTE] what are gun licenses [editline]17th April 2016[/editline] it is legal to own pistols here iirc, you have to apply for it through a pretty strict process

He had an illegal gun so I don't see how this is wrong or anything in any way? If he actually was only keeping it in order to remember his friends, he wouldn't have kept it with 177 fucking rounds for it.

[QUOTE=DaCommie1;50145539]This is in England, there's no such thing as a legal pistol.[/QUOTE] [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_policy_in_the_United_Kingdom#Pistols[/url]

[QUOTE=DaCommie1;50145539]This is in England, there's no such thing as a legal pistol.[/QUOTE] There actually is, and there's also a lot of workarounds.

[QUOTE=DaCommie1;50145539]This is in England, there's no such thing as a legal pistol.[/QUOTE] Airsoft? Match-guns? Nerf-guns? Water-guns? Hell even some very antiquated flintlock pistols are going to be okay to wield in public to some extent.

[QUOTE=ThatSprite;50145551]what are gun licenses [editline]17th April 2016[/editline] it is legal to own pistols here iirc, you have to apply for it through a pretty strict process[/QUOTE] North Ireland is the only place you can own a pistol in the UK, everywhere else it is next to impossible. So impossible, in fact, that the English Olympic pistol team has to practise in France. The only exception is antiques.

[QUOTE=ThatSprite;50145551]what are gun licenses [editline]17th April 2016[/editline] it is legal to own pistols here iirc, you have to apply for it through a pretty strict process[/QUOTE] Regardless of if he had a license or not, he possessed expanding ammunition. Which is illegal in the UK, unless explicitly used for hunting game.

[QUOTE=Cypher_09;50145522]Release this man immediately, holy fuck[/QUOTE] what? why?

[QUOTE=KennyAwsum;50145573]Regardless of if he had a license or not, he possessed expanding ammunition. Which is illegal in the UK, unless explicitly used for hunting game.[/QUOTE] I didn't say the accused did, just correcting the belief that they're completely outlawed here.

I'm on the fence. I would be supporting the soldier if he didn't have the ammo with it.

[QUOTE=Zukriuchen;50145579]what? why?[/QUOTE] Well duh! He's an SAS badass that means we can forgive him for knowingly breaking laws! If the gun was a memento, and he really, really cared. Then I'm sure he would have gone through the process of obtaining an ownership license or getting it deactivated. We can't pick and choose who the law applies to, that's dumb.

[QUOTE=hexpunK;50145596]Well duh! He's an SAS badass that means we can forgive him for knowingly breaking laws! If the gun was a memento, and he really, really cared. Then I'm sure he would have gone through the process of obtaining an ownership license or getting it deactivated. We can't pick and choose who the law applies to, that's dumb.[/QUOTE] Knowing English gun laws, he probably would've been arrested if he tried to have it deactivated lmao. 15 months is way too much for this guy, give him a break for fucks sake. The guy is trained around Firearms.

[QUOTE=Cinnamonbun;50145622]Knowing English gun laws, he probably would've been arrested if he tried to have it deactivated lmao.[/QUOTE] He could have gotten it proofed and then legally deactivated later. There is a proofing house in birmingham and another in london. People actually do the same thing with much older weapons. It's actually more expensive to get a deactivated weapon shipped in as well more often than not their standards of deactivation are different to ours, and you'll have to proof that weapon on top of tax and various other charges. It gets complicated.

[QUOTE=KennyAwsum;50145647]He could have gotten it proofed and then legally deactivated later. There is a proofing house in birmingham and another in london. It's actually more expensive to deactivate a weapon abroad as well more often than not their standards of deactivation are different to ours.[/QUOTE] Do you honestly think this guy deserved 15 months in prison? That's a bit harsh, its not like he is some dopehead with a strap walking on the streets. The guy is obviously trained with firearms. He could've gotten it deactivated, probably would've been a bit of a pain in the arse though. You guys need to have at least some leniency on some of these cases. This guy was NOT a threat to public safety.

[QUOTE=Cinnamonbun;50145661]Do you honestly think this guy deserved 15 months in prison? That's a bit harsh, its not like he is some dopehead with a strap walking on the streets. The guy is obviously trained with firearms. He could've gotten it deactivated, probably would've been a bit of a pain in the arse though. You guys need to have at least some leniency on some of these cases.[/QUOTE] "some leniency" is (arguably) fine and dandy [QUOTE=Cypher_09;50145522]Release this man immediately, holy fuck[/QUOTE] this, not so sure

If the British do it anything like us Americans, captured weapons are supposed to be destroyed on the spot, not kept as souvenirs. This guy's a shitbag. If he wanted something to remember his dead comrades by, he could have easily commissioned a plaque or something. This wasn't World War Two, when everyone and their Grandmother was coming home with captured Lugers and MP-40s. Lock his ass up.

[QUOTE=Cinnamonbun;50145661]Do you honestly think this guy deserved 15 months in prison? That's a bit harsh, its not like he is some dopehead with a strap walking on the streets. The guy is obviously trained with firearms. He could've gotten it deactivated, probably would've been a bit of a pain in the arse though. You guys need to have at least some leniency on some of these cases.[/QUOTE] Imo, i think it was probably the ammunition that was the straw that broke the camel's back more than the weapon itself. They are illegal hollow points, with no practicality besides hunting. Maybe he didn't deserve 15 months for the gun charge alone but keeping the ammunition was a really bad move. I mean what was he really going to use them for? What was the excuse for keeping the ammo?

[QUOTE=Psychokitten;50145685]If the British do it anything like us Americans, captured weapons are supposed to be destroyed on the spot, not kept as souvenirs. This guy's a shitbag. If he wanted something to remember his dead comrades by, he could have easily commissioned a plaque or something. This wasn't World War Two, when everyone and their Grandmothers were coming home with captured Lugers and MP-40s. Lock his ass up.[/QUOTE] Lmao he is a shitbag for having a fucking trophy gun? I guess that makes my Grandpa and uncles shitbags too for bringing home guns to keep as souvenirs.

What a menace to society, I'm glad they stopped him

[QUOTE=hexpunK;50145596]We can't pick and choose who the law applies to, that's dumb.[/QUOTE] Generalizing every unique individual's case and its respective circumstances with this mentality is what's dumb. We [i]can[/i] actually pick and choose who the law applies to based on their specific situation, the details of their case, etc. Justice should not be blind; that's what allows absurdities like this to occur in the first place when they shouldn't.

[QUOTE=KennyAwsum;50145698]Imo, i think it was probably the ammunition that was the straw that broke the camel's back more than the weapon itself. They are illegal hollow points, with no practicality besides hunting. Maybe he didn't deserve 15 months for the gun charge alone but keeping the ammunition was a really bad move. I mean what was he really going to use them for? What was the excuse for keeping the ammo?[/QUOTE] I still think 15 months for having ammunition is absurd. Shit I myself have an ammo collection of different types of 7.62x39, 9mm, 7.62x54r, .7.62x51 NATO, etc. I could never live in Britain.

[QUOTE=Psychokitten;50145685]If the British do it anything like us Americans, captured weapons are supposed to be destroyed on the spot, not kept as souvenirs. This guy's a shitbag. If he wanted something to remember his dead comrades by, he could have easily commissioned a plaque or something. This wasn't World War Two, when everyone and their Grandmother was coming home with captured Lugers and MP-40s. Lock his ass up.[/QUOTE] Honestly, this is why I'm not gonna bother posting a big counter-argument. What kind of bullshit is this? Yeah, its illegal, like many things, but illegal does not automatically mean bad, and it does not mean automatically a bad person. Really? He's a shitbag? You know this for a fact, because he wanted to keep a gun in a war he fought in and had friends die in? He could be a fucking saint and the only reason your ignorant ass wants to peg him as a shitbag, is because of a singular isolated thing you know about his entire existence that spans far beyond yours and mine. [I]After leaving the elite regiment he worked abroad for non-government organisations in Iraq and Afghanistan and now lives in Thailand. [/I] I hate to use you as an example but your post really just sums up the shitty attitude in this thread. He did something stupid, he did something illegal in his country, and he isn't above the law and I'm not gonna argue it. But the judgmental attitude is appalling.

[QUOTE=Cinnamonbun;50145724]I still think 15 months for having ammunition is absurd. Shit I myself have an ammo collection of different types of 7.62x39, 9mm, 7.62x54r, .7.62x51 NATO, etc. I could never live in Britain.[/QUOTE] Yeah but you have to understand we don't have the same gun culture that the US has. It might seem absurd to you but makes sense to me and our laws.