Teenager fined for firing gun at house (From South Wales Argus)

Teenager fined for firing gun at house

12:32pm Sunday 31st December 2006 in

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A FURIOUS Newport father slammed police after they dished out just an £80 fine to a lout who fired a gun at his living-room window.

Ian Johnson said the shot from the pellet gun smashed the double-glazed window in the living room at his Cardiff Road home.

Mr Johnson added that the punishment handed to the teenager responsible was not tough enough and that he believes the 19-year-old male's actions should have landed him in court.

"He should have been prosecuted because it sends out the wrong message to anybody else who fires a gun at somebody's window," said 51-year-old Mr Johnson, who is married to Jackie, also 51, and has two sons, Lee, 30, and Craig, 22.

"At the end of the day he was walking the streets with a gun in his pocket and it looked like a real gun - that should be an offence in itself.

"My 86-year-old mother-in-law was inside at the time and I have two elderly neighbours. There was a massive bang - the shock of it could have killed them.

"And it was lucky it (the pellet) didn't come right through as it was at head height so could have caused injury."

Mr Johnson, who is now faced with a £75 repair bill, said the apparently motiveless attack happened at about 7.45pm on Christmas Day while his family were in the lounge.

"After we heard the bang my two sons and I ran outside and saw three teenage lads running up the road," said the lorry driver. "We managed to drag them back to the house.

"We called the police and they arrested them. One of them had the gun in his pocket."

Councillor David Fouweather, shadow cabinet member for community safety, branded the fixed penalty "scandalous".

"You would receive a higher penalty if you fly-tipped," he said. "Yet again the victim is a second-class citizen."

A Gwent Police spokesman confirmed that a 19-year-old man arrested for criminal damage and possession of a pellet gun was issued with a £80 penalty notice for disorder.

"The decision as to whether to caution, reprimand, fine or charge an offender is dependent on the person's age, the circumstances, the type of crime, and previous convictions," she said.