A Dundee musician who bought an illegal stun gun because he believed his upstairs neighbour was going to murder him has been spared jail.
Michael Cosgrove faced a minimum five year prison term after he was found guilty of ordering the Taser-like firearm from an overseas seller.
But his lawyer argued there were “exceptional circumstances” to keep him out of jail.
A jury at Perth Sheriff Court heard the 52-year-old bought the weapon during the pandemic lockdown as a “last resort” for his own protection, claiming the man in the flat above had threatened to kill him over his guitar playing.
The £10 weapon, which was disguised as a torch, was intercepted by Border Force officers.
When police raided 52-year-old Cosgrove’s flat in Shepherd’s Loan, he told them he had not yet received the device but had already decided he was going to “throw it in the Tay” anyway.
‘A very ill-judged purchase’
At his trial, Cosgrove denied ordering the firearm and claimed the item shipped was different to the device he had purchased.
But jurors took just half an hour to unanimously find him guilty.
Cosgrove returned to the dock, having been warned the offence carries a statutory five-year jail sentence.
Sheriff William Wood told him: “As you will now be acutely aware, this was a very ill-judged purchase.
“However, I do take account of the time that this happened, when we were all locked in our homes.
“Whether you received this device is somewhat academic, given that it had been purchased and paid for and was being dispatched to you.
“I accept you did try to cancel the purchase but by that stage the order was already complete and the item was in transit.”
The sheriff said: “There is an expectation by the Scottish Government that should someone be convicted of an offence such as this, there is a mandatory five-year prison sentence unless exceptional circumstances exist.
“I am satisfied that there are such circumstances in this particular case.
“I don’t think a prison sentence is merited when there are alternatives available.”
Cosgrove was ordered to carry out the maximum 300 hours unpaid work and placed on supervision for two years.
Detrimental to jail accused
Solicitor Douglas McConnell said jailing his client would be “disproportionate and arbitrary.”
“Mr Cosgrove tried to cancel the order after he had spoken a friend about it.
“It would have been helpful if the website had replied to him.”
Mr McConnell said at the time his client was struggling with mental health issues, exacerbated by lockdown conditions.
“Placing someone like Mr Cosgrove in custody would be detrimental to himself and to society,” he said.
Diary of threats
The court heard how police descended on Cosgrove’s flat on August 11 2020, days after the firearm was intercepted.
Cosgrove told them: “I bought it but saw online it was illegal and I was going to throw it in the Tay.
“I didn’t even get it, there is nothing in the house.”
He added: “You’re arresting me for ordering a Taser.
“You should speak to the boy upstairs, he keeps threatening to shoot me.”
Police found in his living room a notebook, with threats allegedly made against Cosgrove alongside timings and dates.
The final entry read: “If he’s thinking of playing music, I’ll kill the b******.”
Cosgrove told the trial he had been keeping a diary of threats made by his neighbour, following advice from police.
He said the firearm was advertised online as a “self-defence device”.
“I bought this item but there was no intention of any malice,” he said.
“I was in a situation where there was a guy upstairs threatening to murder me.
“It was a last resort to try and nullify the situation,” he told the jury.
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