Coalville man jailed

Police found a raft of firearms and prohibited weapons.

A Leicestershire man has been jailed for 10 years after he was found to be in possession of a raft of firearms and prohibited weapons.

Forty-seven-year-old Stephen Macmahon was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court.

The stash was recovered from Macmahon’s home address in The Oval, Coalville, in April last year after information was passed on to police. Officers executed a warrant under section 46 of the Firearms Act and found a locked room inside the house.

Macmahon said the room was a study, which belonged to his deceased father and told police he had not been in for three years, telling police there might be a BB gun inside.

But when officers went into the room they found an arsenal of weapons, including a pump-action shotgun, revolvers, pistols, pepper sprays and other incapacitants. Stun guns – disguised as mobile phones and USB sticks – and ammunition were also uncovered. Written articles and instruction manuals about weapons – as well as receipts for some of the items – were also seized.

Police also found an order of service for the funeral of Macmahon’s mother, which took place just three weeks before the search – proving that he did have access to the room.

Macmahon had his rifle licence certificate revoked in 2018 and officers found paperwork showing he had attempted to regain it.

On 19 December, at Leicester Crown Court, Macmahon pleaded guilty to:

• 21 counts of possessing a prohibited weapon
• Three counts of possessing ammunition without a firearm certificate
• Two counts of possessing prohibited ammunition
• Two counts of possessing a prohibited firearm
• One count of possession of ammunition
• One count of possessing a smooth-bore gun
• One count of possession of a firearm without a certificate
• One count of fraudulent evasion of a prohibition

Detective Inspector Tim Lindley, from Leicestershire Police’s Complex crime team, was the senior investigating officer. He said: “The number of weapons we recovered from Macmahon’s address is more than the total number that were recovered in both Leicestershire and Lincolnshire last year.

“Macmahon was fascinated by firearms and weapons and – despite having his shotgun licence revoked – continued to collect and hoard any weapons that he was able to buy. I hope the public feel reassured by the fact such a large number of firearms have seized by police and therefore will not and cannot fall into the wrong hands.”

Detective Constables Anna Thorpe and Simon Roberts were both officers in the case.

“During the search, officers also found a US Army improvised munitions handbook,” said DC Thorpe. “Inside the book a marker was found on a page entitled ‘Pipe Hand Grenade’. While no grenades were found at the address, it’s clear that Macmahon has a serious interest in weapons specifically designed to kill people.”

DC Roberts added: “I hope the public can take some comfort from the fact that Macmahon has accepted responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty.  We will continue to investigate all reports of illegal firearm possession and would encourage anyone to report such incidents to us.

• Macmahon was also charged with the following offences, which will lie on file: one count of possession of a prohibited weapon; one count of possession of ammunition; one count of possessing an article to convert firearms; one count of possession of a single-shot pistol; one count of possession of CPS spray ammunition; one count of importing a forward-venting pistol