Face of jailed Dudley man who had haul of guns, knives and bullets at his home
A senior police officer has welcomed the jailing of a man caught with an arsenal of weapons at his home.
Frankie Burton, from Dudley, had also carried out research relating to gun crimes and on shooting someone in the head.
Detectives discovered the haul of guns, bullets, knives and tools during a raid at the property, in Roberts Green Road, Lower Gornal, on April 20 last year.
The 31-year-old was jailed for six years and four months at Wolverhampton Crown Court after admitting seven counts relating to possession of prohibited firearms and possession of ammunition without a firearms certificate.
Detetective Inspector Lisa Jackson, from West Midlands Police priority and vulnerabilities team, said: “We discovered Burton was stockpiling an arsenal of weapons at his home including homemade guns he was converting as well as hoarding knives.
“Burton had a fascination with murder and viewed videos on reloading ammunition and had documents with a step by step guide. He took an interest in murder probes across the country and researched anatomy of headshots as well as looking into convictions related to firearms conversion convictions and sentencing guidelines.
“The judge today rightly described this as ‘worrying case’ and found that his interest in firearms conversion was for an unknown criminal purpose, rather than a hobby, as had been suggested.
“He was described in court as a ‘troubling individual’ and a risk to the public, so we’re pleased that he’s behind bars today.”
Sentencing him on Friday, Judge Michael Chambers KC rejected Burton's claim that collecting the weapons was his hobby. He said Burton had failed to provide a detailed explanation for his actions and had deliberately failed to explain why he carried out internet research into gun crime and "shooting someone in the head".
