Man fired imitation gun in Corby’s Everest Lane to test if it was working

Corby CCTV officers watched on camera as a man fired a ‘gun’ at targets in Everest Lane.

A court was shown the shocking footage which showed what looked like a black pistol being fired repeatedly over several minutes by a man high on amphetamine in Everest Lane.

Armed police were called to the scene by the camera operators where they arrested Dariusz Kwiatosz and discovered the weapon was actually a BB gun.

He said he’d been firing it to test whether it was working properly and to scare a cat he had seen in the area.

Kwiatosz, of Hogarth Walk, appeared at court on Friday (April 6) from HMP Peterborough where he has been on remand since the incident late at night on January 29 this year.

The 44-year-old arrived at the service area behind Cancer Research in Everest Lane at about 10.45pm on a bike, wearing a puma jumper with his hood up and a holster around his waist.

The footage showed the Polish national firing the gun repeatedly at walls, bins and the parking area. The court was told he’d taken drugs and had chosen that location because it was derelict and all the windows are boarded up. In fact, the street is a busy service area for the surrounding shops although quiet at that time of night.

He was arrested by armed officers as he tried to cycle away. They also found a lock knife and a Stanley knife on him which he claimed to be carrying for work purposes.

When questioned, he told police he had wanted to frighten a black cat he’d seen there. No injured cat was found and Kwiatosz denied aiming for the animal, although he did point the weapon in its general direction.

In mitigation, the court was told the defendant – who moved to the UK in 2013 – had no previous convictions and had a machine operator’s job at Capital Injection Ceramics in Weldon.

Kwiatosz pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm in a public place, possession of amphetamine and cannabis and possession of two knives. A charge of the theft of three ID cards was allowed to lie on file.

His Honour Judge David Herbert said: “The gun was on your hip and anyone who had seen you cycling there would have seen it and would have assumed you were armed.

“You fired at bins and walls but also in the air at a trajectory that must have taken the shot over the wall and in those circumstances there was a risk that anyone in the area could have been injured.

"Discharging a firearm in the way you did was extremely reckless made worse by the fact you were under the influence of drugs at the time.

"Carrying and discharging any weapon, even a BB gun, in public is viewed seriously by the courts.”

Kwiatosz was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 21 months, and was ordered to complete 25 rehabilitation requirement days.

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