Ipswich man was found with collection of illegal pistols after firing gun at wall
A man jailed for burglary and firearms offences was arrested after firing a gun at his bedroom wall.
At Ipswich Crown Court yesterday, William O'Neill, 37, was jailed for seven years and two months.
This was after he pleaded guilty to four counts of possession of illegally held firearms and one count of illegal possession of ammunition.
O'Neill, of Back Hamlet, Ipswich, was also sentenced over a burglary conviction which he received following a trial in December last year.
He first came onto the police's radar on September 13, 2021, when a gunshot was heard from his bedroom.
At the time, he was living in shared accommodation with five other people – and one of his flatmates alerted the police out of fear for O'Neill's life.
However, officers attending the scene soon discovered that O'Neill had not shot himself – rather, he had fired at his bedroom wall.
During their visit, police found a number of pistols and revolvers in O'Neill's possession.
He was arrested and taken to Martlesham Police Investigation Centre.
Following the firearms arrest, a woman also living in shared accommodation in Back Hamlet was the victim of a burglary.
On September 27, the woman found her wardrobe had been ransacked, with £6,000 of skirts, suits, coats and scarves stolen.
In addition, the thief had made off with £50 of cleaning products from her kitchen.
A police investigation led to O'Neill being charged over this offence in July 2022.
Yesterday, he was jailed for five years and two months over the firearms offences.
He was handed an additional two-year sentence over the burglary offence.