Man jailed after shooting self in groin
The Associated Press
Published July 14, 2004, 5:49 AM CDT
SHEFFIELD, England -- A man who shot himself in the groin after drinking 15 pints of beer and stuffing a sawed-off shotgun down his trousers was jailed for five years Tuesday for illegal possession of a firearm.
David Walker, 28, underwent emergency surgery after the March 6 incident in Dinnington, northern England. Tests were continuing to learn if Walker would be left infertile, his lawyer Gulzar Syed said.
"He still feels quite severe pain," Syed told Sheffield Crown Court, adding that some pellets still were lodged in Walker's groin area.
Walker had admitted one charge of possession of a prohibited firearm at a previous hearing.
Prosecuting lawyer Andrew Hatton told the court Walker had gone home to get the shotgun after arguing in the pub with lifelong friend Stuart Simpson about whose turn it was to buy a beer.
As he was returning to the pub, which had closed by then, he accidentally fired the weapon.
"He had it shoved down his trousers," Hatton said. "After the shotgun had discharged he placed it in a rubbish bin and crawled back to his home."
Walker told officers he was so drunk he had no idea how he managed to shoot himself and why he had gone home for the gun.
Judge Robert Moore said recent legislation regarding banned weapons meant he had to impose the statutory five-year minimum sentence.
"The shooting of yourself is plainly an exceptional circumstance which is capable of reducing the sentence," Moore said. "But in this case, I am quite certain, it does not justify reducing it below the statutory minimum."
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press
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