A man who was armed with a gun made the sign of a cross after he lost two men chasing him through a Leeds street with machetes.
Dwayne O'Brien, 29, was seen aiming the weapon at a Land Rover before being chased by the two men on August 22 this year. Leeds Crown Court heard on Wednesday the incident began on Church Road in Armley and continued through a number of streets.
Prosecutor, Philip Standfast, told the court it was seen by a number of witnesses who caught sight of the Jeep-type vehicle and Land Rover and their occupants. He said: "The cars were used to ram each other and one man says he saw a man get out of a vehicle and point the firearm. The clothing described matches that which Dwayne O'Brien was seen wearing on CCTV at a library.
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"A woman saw a man from the Jeep get out and point the gun at the Land Rover and a woman saw police detain a man she described getting out of a vehicle with something wrapped around his hand and getting something from the vehicle."
The court heard that two firearms were used in the incident and video recordings suggested a man wearing a red balaclava could be seen running from the same direction the cars had travelled in while pointing a revolver behind him.
Mr Standfast said: "On Laurel Fold, the same man - known to be O'Brien - runs into the road followed by the Land Rover and chased by two men brandishing machetes. CCTV from the library shows him wearing a red top and jacket. When he leaves he can be seen holding it [the firearm] and crossing himself in a latitude of prayer. He was arrested close to the scene and was said to be carrying a rucksack, a balaclava and the pistol."
O'Brien, of Cemetery Road in Beeston, was interviewed under caution and he told police an "old lady" asked him to switch the car engine off and "when he looked down he saw a bag with it [the firearm] in and decided to keep it to see how much it was worth."
He later said he had bought the firearm for his own protection.
The court heard he had 11 previous convictions for 41 offences including dishonesty and breaches of court orders. He was last before the court in 2021 for two counts of assaulting emergency workers and battery.
Mitigating, Andrew Coleman argued O'Brien did not buy the firearm to "go out and commit" crimes "as some people may take a firearm to advance criminal enterprises" but as there was a threat on his life.
He said: "Since being in custody he has volunteered himself for courses. He has just been accepted onto a 'Thinking Skills' programme. He is not somebody who is closing his cell door and being like 'I'm locked up and will be part of the system until I get out.' He is taking steps to rehabilitate himself in his relatively short period of time in custody in comparison to what his sentence will be today."
His Honour Judge Clark made O'Brien the subject of an extended sentence of nine years and four months for the offences of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, possession of ammunition without a certificate, possession of a firearm when prohibited, possession of ammunition when prohibited and possessing a prohibited firearm.
The sentence will be made up of a custodial sentence of six years and four months and an extended sentence of three years.
The judge said: "You claim to have no memory of where you got it the gun or how much you paid for it. The pre-sentence report says you had problems with drug and alcohol misuse. You demonstrate what appears to be genuine remorse and have suffered great difficulties in your childhood. It is to your credit you have worked hard on your substance misuse while in custody and you recognise the position you're in."
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