Three years in jail for serial offender who took fake shotgun to pub

A SERIAL convict who took a fake shotgun to a pub while he was out on licence has been jailed for three years.
Craig Weatherly was jailed at Sheffield Crown Court on WednesdayCraig Weatherly was jailed at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday
Craig Weatherly was jailed at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday

Craig Weatherly (27), of Arcubus Avenue, Swallownest, turned up outside the Oak Inn in Swallownest at around 1.45am on November 11 with a fake double-barrel shotgun he had made at home.

The bar's manager, Ms Morgan Gee, was closing the pub with her colleague at the time, Mr Neil Coxon, prosecuting, told Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday.

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“They saw what transpired to be this defendant, wearing a dark hooded top which was over his face and a face covering which masked his mouth and nose,” said Mr Coxon.

“She was about four or five feet away and she saw what appeared to be a double-barrelled shotgun.

“He was facing her and she feared she, or the public house, would be the subject of a robbery.”

Ms Gee and her colleague went inside the pub and locked the doors, Mr Coxon said.

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Police arrived at the scene just after 2am but could not find Weatherly when they searched the area.

Ms Gee and her colleague left the pub and, when they were about 500 metres away, they spotted Weatherly and alerted the police.

Weatherly swore at officers as he was tackled to the ground and disarmed, Mr Coxon said.

The incident happened weeks after Weatherly had been released on licence from an 18-month jail sentence for an arson attack.

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During his interview, Weatherly told officers he had been in the pub since 7pm and had drunk seven pints of Fosters and four cans.

He had seen an altercation at the pub and went back to his flat to arm himself with the intention of scaring off a man who was shouting at a woman, Mr Coxon said.

Weatherly told officers he had made the fake shotgun himself out of piping which he sprayed black.

“He had done that to protect himself because of the flat he was living in and the location he was living in,” said Mr Coxon.

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Ms Gee said in a statement which was read to the court that she kept having flashbacks of Weatherly with the gun.

Her colleague said the incident had made her “very frightened about working nights at the pub” and she got “panicky” when customers she didn’t recognise walked through the door.

Weatherly admitted possession of an imitation firearm at an earlier hearing at Sheffield Crown Court.

He has 25 convictions for 45 offences including theft offences and arson.

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Mitgating, Mr Richard Adams said: “There’s no excusing the fact that this is a serious matter.”

He said Weatherly was “badly beaten” after the victim of one of his previous crimes discovered where he lived.

“He made the item that was the subject of this matter for fear of a similar incident,” said Mr Adams.

Mr Adams said someone at the Oak Inn requested a minute’s silence at midnight for Remembrance Sunday, which led to an argument.

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“During the course of that argument it seems this defendant was pushed over,” said Mr Adams.

“He responded by returning home and collecting the item to scare the male who pushed him over.”

Sentencing, Judge Michael Slater told Weatherly he was realistic enough to realise that the offence was so serious that only an immediate sentence of imprisonment was justified.