A 64-year-old great-grandfather has been jailed for five years after pulling a gun on his granddaughter during a family dispute over his wife’s ashes.
Martin Gordon was arrested in Dudley, West Midlands, after brandishing a pistol on a residential street last August.
The incident unfolded when Gordon confronted his granddaughter at the Samson and Lion pub over the removal of his wife’s ashes from the mantelpiece.
The family confrontation was streamed live on Facebook, with Gordon’s grandson also becoming involved by brandishing a baseball bat.
Martin Gordon was arrested in Dudley, West Midlands
West Midlands Police
The dramatic scenes played out in full view of the public on a residential street.
Firearms officers were dispatched to the scene and tracked Gordon down around 40 minutes later at a nearby industrial estate.
Officers found him sitting in a black Range Rover and forced him to the ground during the arrest.
Upon searching Gordon, police discovered a gun, a magazine of blank bullets, a pick axe handle and two tasers.
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The dramatic scenes played out in full view of the public on the residential street
West Midlands Police
The family confrontation was streamed live on Facebook
West Midlands Police
Officers found him sitting in a black Range Rover
West Midlands Police
A subsequent search of his home led officers to find a live round of ammunition in his sink.
Gordon was charged with possessing a firearm, having ammunition without a licence, and two counts of possessing a taser.
At Wolverhampton Crown Court, Gordon pleaded guilty to all charges, claiming he had the gun for protection after £200,000 was stolen from him in a robbery.
Judge Amy Jacobs, who sentenced Gordon on February 13, likened the incident to a scene from a television soap opera.
Officers forced him to the ground during the arrest
West Midlands Police
Detective Sergeant Matt Nightingale, from West Midlands Police, said: “Gordon brandished this weapon in full view of other members of the public and made no effort to conceal it.”
“Quick work by officers meant that we were able to quickly locate him and recover the gun,” he added.
“We’re committed to tackling gun crime – we’re taking weapons off the streets and putting those who carry them behind bars.”
