A convicted drug dealer caught with a disguised stun gun has evaded the mandatory minimum five year jail term due to her “exceptional circumstances”.
Suzanne Neave was allowed to walk free from court, despite having a taser-style device which would normally attract a statutory jail term.
However, she had voluntarily told police about the weapon when she was providing a statement on an unrelated issue and a sheriff said such punishment would be “arbitrary and disproportionate”.
Sheriff Alistair Carmichael placed her under social work supervision for two years and under a curfew for six months from 7pm to 7am each day.
Sheriff’s reasoning
The sheriff said: “The law states there should be a minimum five years, unless exceptional circumstances are established about the offence or the offender.
“That is intended to protect the public from the danger of such unlawful weapons.
“The accused… volunteered information about the weapon to police and took them to her home to allow them to recover the weapon.
“A custodial sentence would likely lead to the loss of her flat and the new-found stability in her life.
“Her mental and physical health difficulties, combined with the impact of a custodial sentence and the fact she volunteered the information to police, collectively amounts to exceptional circumstances.
“Five years would be an arbitrary and disproportionate sentence.”
Brought police into flat
Dundee Sheriff Court was told Neave had previously served a 16-month prison sentence for drug dealing and had a criminal record going back more than 25 years.
Neave, 56, of Beacon Road, Montrose, admitted having a firearm disguised as another object – a mobile phone – in her former home at the town’s Provost Reid’s Road on August 6 2019.
Fiscal depute Stewart Duncan told the court Neave was discussing an issue with police officers when she told them, unprompted, about her stun gun.
He said: “She became more and more agitated.
“She made comments regarding a taser-type device which she had in her home.
“She said it was on the table in the living room.
“She was asked by the officers if they could have permission to enter her home.
“She was informed that if the device was recovered she would be charged in respect of this.
“The accused agreed to allow officers to enter her property.
“She provided a description of the device and informed them it would be found on a table in the living room.”
Did not realise ‘torch’ was a weapon
It was found to be a battery-operated stun device.
Mr Duncan said: “When it was tested at the lab it was in working order with an audible and visible display of sparks occurring between the electrodes.
“The device contained a torch function which illuminated when tested.”
Solicitor Sarah Russo, defending, said Neave had been left the weapon some months earlier by a visitor to her flat.
“She did not purchase it.
“Until recently she did not know what it was.
“She took active steps in bringing the taser to the attention of the police.”
