[A] GRANDMOTHER found in possession of a working stun gun disguised as a torch has been jailed for more than two years.
Police swooped on Kelly Joanne Dargue’s Carlisle home on March 15 after executing a drugs warrant, finding the prohibited firearm along with cannabis and amphetamine.
While Dargue claimed not to own the non-lethal but fully functional stun gun, she knew it was an illegal item and had given herself a shock during the short time it had been inside her home after being left there by someone else.
A video showing police testing the weapon – with electricity arcing between two wires at the end of the device, and crackling – was played at Carlisle Crown Court today. Dargue, 48, was sentenced having admitted possessing a firearm disguised as another item.
The crime does attract a minimum five-year jail term, the court heard, although Judge Barbara Forrester concluded there were exceptional circumstances which meant she could reduce the length of sentence.
A mother and grandmother who had lived in Kendal before relocating to Carlisle, Dargue was handed a 27-month prison sentence for the offence.
Judge Forrester ordered the weapon to be forfeited and destroyed, saying: “I am satisfied that the offence crosses the custody threshold, and must be dealt with by the imposition of an immediate custodial sentence.”
Detective Sergeant David Howard said: “When questioned on the device, Dargue admitted that she knew that the possession of the stun gun was illegal but had not taken any action to dispose of it.
“Possession of such items are illegal for a very valid reason and that is the harm that they can cause should they fall into the wrong hands.”
Dargue was fined for illegal possession of the two drugs at a previous court hearing.
