POLICE raiding a cannabis farmer’s home found he had a Taser disguised as a torch in his bedroom.
Lewis Hargreaves, 24, of Church View, Beaufort, Ebbw Vale, was handed a suspended jail sentence at Cardiff Crown Court.
He pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon under the Firearms Act and producing cannabis on March 6, 2019.
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Gareth James, prosecuting, said Hargreaves was growing 11 plants and had three previous convictions for cultivating the class B drug.
It was accepted by the crown that it was a “small domestic set-up” and the cannabis was being grown for the defendant’s own personal use.
Hargreaves said someone had left the stun gun at his home and he had forgotten he had it.
Jeffrey Jones, mitigating, said: “He has never had a prison sentence before and has never been to the crown court before.
“The Taser wasn’t charged and it had never been used by him. He should have handed it in but he forgot about it. No charger was found.”
The judge, Recorder Duncan Bould, told Hargreaves: “In essence, you forgot about the stun gun and had never used it and had no intention of using it. It had never been discharged by you.
“There is no propensity for violence in your record of previous convictions.
“It was still however capable of being a dangerous weapon.”
Hargreaves was jailed for six months for the Firearms Act offence and four months consecutively for producing cannabis.
The combined sentence of 10 months was suspended for 18 months.
The defendant, who receives state benefits, will have to pay £100 towards the prosecution’s costs and a £122 victim surcharge.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the stun gun and cannabis.
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