A man who held a gun to the head of a frightened woman has been jailed.
Kieran Heaton, 29, was arrested by armed police after wielding an Airsoft weapon at a property in Bakersfield, Nottingham on 15 July this year.
Heaton, who was known to his victim, had earlier been asked to leave another address after becoming aggressive toward a different woman at a social gathering.
After returning to his victim’s home, he continued to behave aggressively before brandishing the gun and threatening to return with it to the scene of the earlier altercation.
As his victim tried to stop him, Heaton pointed the weapon at her head – immediately causing her to fear for her life.
The alarm was raised and Heaton was detained outside the address.
He later told interviewing officers that he was drunk and under the influence of cocaine at the time.
The weapon, a pellet-firing Airsoft gun, was recovered from the victim’s garden and found to closely resemble a genuine firearm.
Heaton, of no fixed address, later pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
He also admitted to breaching a non-molestation order imposed to protect another woman from harm.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday 7 November, he was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison and handed a restraining order forbidding any further contact with his victim.
Detective Constable David Marsden, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“The victim in this case had no idea this wasn’t a real firearm and was terrified when it was held against her head.
“Unsurprisingly, Heaton’s actions that night have had a profound impact on her and her children, who must now live with the memory of this incredibly traumatic incident.
“I sincerely hope that this provides closure for the victim, and gives her the space to come to terms with the long lasting consequences.”
Airsoft weapons are replica firearms designed to fire small plastic pellets using compressed air, gas, or electrical power. Handguns like the one used in this incident are often designed to closely resemble real firearms.
Openly carrying such a weapon in public is illegal and is likely to generate an armed police response.
