A young mum adapted her Ford Focus to stash a gun for her ex-commando boyfriend. Charlotte Horne, 25, had secret openings cut into the seats of her car and then covered them with a fabric throw after Sulleman Yassir, 21, needed to hide an air pistol given to him by a former Special Forces colleague.
Police retrieved the gun from one of the slits after Yassir began waving it in the street at a group of men he accused of insulting his local mosque. During a swoop on Horne's car, officers also found ammunition, a serrated knife and a silencer hidden in her handbag.
It is not known what the weapons were to be used for. At Manchester Crown Court, Horne, from Honford Road, Wythenshawe was sentenced to a two-year community order. She was also ordered to complete 30 rehabilitation activity days and 100 hours unpaid work. A judge told her he hoped the "pitiful" incident was a wake up call to her.
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Yassir, of Northbank Gardens, Ladybarn, Manchester was jailed for 18 months. Both pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in a public place and possession of a bladed article.
The incident happened at 8.30pm on June 2nd last year on the A6 in Longsight after CCTV captured Horne stopping her vehicle at a car wash opposite the local police station. Brendan O’Leary prosecuting said: ''Ms Horne was identified as the driver and Yassir as the passenger. After the car parked up Yassir was seen to get out of the car and reach back into the vehicle as if he is retrieving something from the seat.
''He then ran over to the road and positioned himself near his local mosque on the road where he was seen gesticulating in an animated manner to others standing across the street. He appears to be holding a small black pistol in his hand at the time.
“Moments later he ran back to the car, clearly showing the pistol in his outstretched right hand, before getting into the car. The car then leaves the car wash. Greater Manchester police were alerted to the incident and managed to identify the car from the CCTV footage.
”At around 11.30pm that night, PCs Hadfield and King were driving around central Manchester when they spotted the same car driving near Piccadilly railway station.
''They followed the car for a while until it parked up at a nearby gym in the industrial area behind the station. The officers stopped the vehicle and conducted a search. During the search, PC Hadfield found a black suppressor, large serrated knife, air-pistol rounds and cutters concealed in Horne’s handbag.
''They also lifted up a fabric throw that was covering the seats and found a slit in one of them. Hadfield reached into the slit and felt the handle of a firearm. It was a black .22 calibre air pistol. They also found a small black two-inch blade in Yassir’s gym holdall. Both parties were arrested.''
In interview, Yassir claimed that he had previously been in the Royal Marines and said a friend in the special forces who visited him had given him the air pistol. He also claimed that the large serrated knife that was found was used to skin rabbits.
In mitigation for Yassir, defence counsel Aubrey Sampson said: “Mr Yassir accepts the prosecution's facts completely. He was on his way, travelling down the A6, when he heard some racist comments made about his mosque by passersby. When he approached them they directed their insults at him and his family. He then attempted to put a stop to it and show them his gun.
”He genuinely believed that he had the right to own the gun and that it didn’t fall under the firearms act. As you heard from his interview he had previously been in the armed forces and was given the pistol by an ex Special Forces friend who visited him. He said that he was only driving to drop the weapons off at his girlfriend’s house.”
Mitigating for Horne, Damian Zelazowski said: “She is currently living in temporary council accommodation and has a young child to care for. She has no previous convictions and has never been in custody before.”
Sentencing Judge Patrick Field KC told the pair: “This was a particularly dangerous and stupid thing to do, it could have been much more serious. We are talking about waving a firearm around on the A6.
He told Horne: “My only hope is that in your case you will regard this sad and pitful incident as a something of a wakeup call. I hope you realise that a more constructive approach to your life will not only benefit you but your child as well.”
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