Two men jailed after being caught with firearms in Wolverhampton as police operation carried out
Two men who were in a car which was stopped in Wolverhampton as part of a police operation have been jailed
Tyreique Hislop. aged 22 and Omari Johnson-Thomas, aged 24 were passengers in a Skoda Kodiaq car which was being driven and then pursued by police around Monmore Green and Parkfields, before it was brought to a stop near Goldthorn Hill on April 15 last year.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard they were 'boxed in' by four police cars and stopped.
Thomas Griffiths, prosecuting said: "Officers searched a white Iceland carrier bag found in the car and recovered a 9mm calibre Pack gun which had been converted from only firing blank cartridges to be able to fire live ammunition.
"When Hislop was searched, officers found blank cartridges with lead bullets in his pocket. Both men were arrested"
At the time, West Midlands Police were carrying out Operation Redfox across Wolverhampton, carrying out specific activity in areas where there is an "increased risk of violence". They included Whitmore Reans, East Park, Heath Town, Bilston and Dunstall
The court heard both Johnson-Thomas, from Codsall and Hislop, from Telford, had already pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to possession of a firearm, and Hislop had also pleaded guilty an additional charge of possessing ammunition without a firearm certificate - both men had been in custody since being arrested.
They were given a five year jail term each, ordered to pay a victim surcharge and an order was made for the disposal of the ammunition. Hislop was not given a separate jail term for the ammunition offence, which was ordered to lie on file.
