Mother of Five Sentenced to Six Years Jail Time for AK47 Stash

A mother of five has been sentenced to six years in jail for keeping an AK47 with ammunition in an unlocked gym bag in her bedroom.

Katrina Jordon of Hackney, London, said that she had been forced to hold the rifle and ammo for gang members who had threatened her and her children. But the judge refused to take her reasoning into account when sentencing, ruling that it did not constitute “exceptional circumstances” thanks to the lethal nature of the weapons, the Mirror has reported.

Ms Jordan stored the rifle along with 27 rounds of ammunition and nine pistol bullets, all in the same hold-all bag in her bedroom in Woodberry Grove, Hackney. Police found the bag when they raided her house on January 14th this year, after she eventually told them where it was.

Ms Jordon, 32, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm at a preliminary hearing, telling the court that she had had the gun for about three weeks. She said that she been forced to store it for five young black gang members who had threatened both her and her children. She also pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing ammunition.

Ruling on the case at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Judge Caroline Atkinson said that Ms Jordon had effectively been in charge of a “fully functioning killing machine.” She added:

 “The firearm was not loaded but the ammunition fitted the firearm and could have been readily assembled and it was not locked away. You indicated to police where the bag was and you knew it was a firearm, although you did not know what sort of firearm it was.

“In interview you were initially reluctant but indicated five young black men had visited your home and they had threatened you so you would hold the weapon for them.”

Despite Ms Jordon’s claims, Judge Atkinson said there were no “exceptional circumstances” which would allow her to reduce the sentence, as she sought to make an example of Ms Jordon. She continued:

“Those who provide a safe hiding place for weapons like these make a significant and distinctive contribution to the use of firearms on the streets and elsewhere. They do so at their peril – where is the sympathy to the mother of the child or husband killed by the used of these lethal weapons? That is why these sentences are so high.

“It was fully automatic, this with one touch of the trigger this gun was designed to successively discharge the 27 bullets in its cartridge. This was not locked away, it was within reach, you were caught red handed.”