Gun factory man 'allowed criminals to kill'

9:32am Friday 29th August 2008

GRANT Wilkinson has been described as a "serious risk to the public" after being found guilty of setting up a lethal gun factory to convert replica machine guns into working weapons.

The 34-year-old, formerly of High Wycombe, was sentenced to life on Thursday after a four week trial at Reading Crown Court.

"His conversion of imitation weapons allowed criminals to arm themselves with guns capable of killing and maiming people."

Detective Chief Superintendent George Turner

His co-defendant Gary Lewis, 38, from Blind Lane, Bourne End, was cleared of the nine conspiracy and gun possession charges they both faced, and broke down in tears in the dock.

The court heard Wilkinson bought 90 replica Mac-10 submachine guns from a weapons supplier in Northolt, Middlesex under the premise they were needed for a new James Bond film.

He also bought a cache of ammunition and paid more than £55,000 for the haul in cash.

Wilkinson then set up an illegal gun factory to convert the weapons, which were "produced solely for killing", in two sheds in the grounds of a house known as The Briars in Basingstoke Road, Three Mile Cross, Berkshire.

The guns were sold on, and since Wilkinson's arrest in December 2007 they have been linked to eight murders and 24 serious shootings, the court heard.

John Price, prosecuting, told the court the police had been greatly concerned by how easy it had been for Wilkinson to convert the imitation weapons into live firearms.

He said: "Certainly as far as the defendant was concerned it was being undertaken by an individual with no specific prior experience, who was learning the trade on the job it seems, and who was able to convert these weapons with very little difficulty."

He added this was "a particularly unusual and disturbing feature of this case".

The jury was told Wilkinson was able to live an affluent life, dining at top restaurants and staying in exclusive hotels, on the profits he made through the gun factory.

Police discovered his enterprise last July after a curious tenant of The Briars found one of the shed doors open and stumbled inside.

Three Mac-10s in various stages of conversion, more than 2,000 discharged cartridges and "precise engineering tools" such as lathes and drills were found inside.

Officers were also led to a further stash of weapons and ammunition buried in a field off Juniper Lane in Wooburn Green.

Wilkinson led them to the field after his arrest, and said he was able to take officers there after overhearing a telephone conversation involving a gangster known only as R'. He said his directions to the spot were based on a hunch.

While passing sentence, Judge Zoe Smith noted around 30-40 of the converted machine guns were still unaccounted for.

She said: "Regrettably, but doubtlessly the roll-call of death and serious injury will continue."

She gave Wilkinson a life sentence and told him he must serve a minimum of 11 years before he would be eligible for parole.

The court also heard Wilkinson had previously been convicted of grievous bodily harm and the supply of class A and B drugs.

Judge Smith added: "This court knows from its own experience that gun crime has become endemic."

Detective Chief Superintendent George Turner led the Thames Valley Police investigation, which took the equivalent of four years of police work.

He said: "There can be no underestimating the impact of Wilkinson's actions, his conversion of imitation weapons allowed criminals to arm themselves with guns capable of killing and maiming people."

The list of crimes involving Wilkinson's converted weapons:

* Fifteen-year-old Michael Dosunmu was shot in his bed at his home in Peckham, south east London in February 2007. Mohammed Sannoh, 19, and Abdi Omar Noor, 22, were found guilty of his murder in June 2008. They were sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 30 years.

* Dad-of-two Jason Greene, aged 29, was shot in the chest while he sat in his car outside his home in Middlesex in July 2006. Christopher Toussant-Collins, 19, was found guilty of his murder in August 2007. He was sentenced to serve life imprisonment in September 2007 to serve a minimum of 25 years.

* Antoine Smith, 24, was shot in the chest outside a pizza shop in Clapham, London in October 2006. The case remains unsolved after two youths were found not guilty of his murder in October 2007. Police continue to appeal for witnesses and information.

* Nineteen-year-old Jamail Newton was shot after leaving a nightclub in Camberwell Road, London in November 2006. A £20,000 reward is being offered to help solve his murder.

* Robel Tewelde, 21, was shot in a communal stairwell of the Studley Estate in Stockwell, London in October 2007. Jermaine Callum, 18, was convicted of his murder in July 2008. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 19 years.

* Richard Holmes, also 21, was fatally shot in Chingford, London in November 2005 over a row about song lyrics. Anthony Green, 35, and Carl Dobson, 23, were convicted of his murder in November 2006 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 30 years.

* Daniel Denis, 26, was shot in the head in a drive-by shooting in Acton, west London in September 2007. Five people have been arrested in connection with his murder. One man remains on police bail. Police continue to appeal for witnesses and information.

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