A FORMER soldier who armed himself with a stun gun disguised as a mobile phone has been jailed.
John Motson, 32, ordered the weapon, legal in the US, from a company based in America.
Police discovered the weapon when they were searching Motson's address in Edward Collins Way, east Hull.
Hull Crown Court heard he claimed he needed the stun gun for protection after believing he was going to be attacked in his home.
Motson has also been jailed for breaching a non-molestation order and harassing a former partner.
As Judge Mark Bury jailed him for five years, Motson said: "Five years? That's a bit harsh, isn't it? I served eight years for my country – eight years I put in for this country."
Motson was given a suspended sentence order for harassment of his former partner in October last year.
But he breached a non-molestation order in February by turning up at his former's partner's home late at night.
His ex-partner called the police and Motson was found drunk in a street nearby at 2.25am.
He was taken into custody and when police received a tip-off about his phone, they searched his home and discovered he had received the weapon in the post.
Motson pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited disguised weapon under the Firearms Act.
His barrister Richard Thompson urged the judge to find there were exceptional circumstances and to consider suspending his sentence.
But Judge Bury dismissed the application and sentenced him to the minimum five-year term.
He said: "The fact that this type of weapon is legal to hold in some districts for protection in the US is not a relevant consideration.
"The defendant says he did not appreciate he was breaking the law. I'm having difficultly believing that after having been in the Army for a number of years, he didn't realise it was illegal to possess a stun gun. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
"But he got it for self-protection in his home because he had delusional beliefs he is being persecuted by someone who is going to break in to his house."
He told Motson that Parliament had ruled that the minimum five-year sentence should be imposed and he must stay "faithful" to it.
He said: "This was a stun gun disguised as a mobile phone. They are marketed in some districts for self-defence and are capable of discharging electric to the nervous system of a person to disrupt muscle control.
"A stun gun is a prohibited weapon."
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