Man high on crack cocaine threw loaded gun over garden fence while his children were present during raid

‘You had no regard whatsoever for the safety of your family,’ a Sheffield judge has told a man who, while high on crack cocaine, threw a loaded gun over his garden fence while his partner and children were present at the property during a police raid. 

Summarising the facts of the case, Judge Sarah Wright said defendant Richard Riley’s crimes were first exposed after a bag containing three adapted firearms, one of which had Riley’s DNA on it, along with ‘modified live ammunition…capable of causing serious injury or death’ were found in a locker in September 2022. 

Judge Wright said the firearms had been modified from ‘firing pistols’ to turn them into potentially deadly weapons. 

“They’re the sort of weapons passed around criminal groups to cause terror on the streets,” Judge Wright told Riley, aged 49. 

Police subsequently executed a search warrant at Riley’s property in March 2023, and upon entering the property, officers observed Riley throw - what was later determined to be a loaded - firearm over his garden fence and into his next door neighbour’s garden, Sheffield Crown Court heard during a hearing held on September 21, 2023. 

Judge Wright said Riley’s partner and four children, aged between five and 14-years-old, were present when the raid was executed.

“You had been consuming crack cocaine and there were children present,” Judge Wright said, adding: “You had no regard whatsoever for the welfare of your family when you committed these offences, which resulted in - or were capable of resulting in - serious criminal conduct.”

“The fact that the gun was loaded means you were reckless as to whether the weapon would be used for a criminal purpose.”

During the police interviews and Sheffield Crown Court trial that followed, Riley did not provide an explanation for how he came to be in possession of the firearms and ammunition. 

Judge Wright suggested that if Riley’s role was to store the firearms and ammunition that it must have been ‘for some sort of reward’. 

“You did not do this out of the goodness of your heart,” she told him.

Judge Wright conceded there was ‘no evidence’ of any of the firearms found in Riley’s possession having been discharged, or of serious injury or harm being caused.  

Riley has a criminal record of 60 previous offences from 14 court appearances, which were committed between 1998 and 2009, and include a conviction for possession of prohibited ammunition.  

At the conclusion of a trial earlier this month (September 2023), jurors found Riley, of Lovetot Avenue, Aston, Rotherham, guilty of multiple charges including four counts of possessing a prohibited firearm, three counts of possessing a firearm when prohibited and a further count of possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate. 

Claire Holmes, defending, told Judge Wright that Riley’s mother is battling a ‘terminal condition,’ which means she is ‘unlikely to see him released’, if she was to pass the mandatory minimum five-year sentence that being in possession of a firearm carries. 

Turning to Riley’s offending, Ms Holmes said there had been a ‘series of life events’ including the deaths of his brother and friend which had ‘destabilised him,’ and he had begun taking crack cocaine. 

Ms Holmes said Riley was ‘capable of showing a better side of himself’ than the findings of the jury suggest, adding that he was likely to find custody and his subsequent release ‘extremely difficult,’ and urged Judge Wright to pass the smallest sentence, commensurate with her public duty. 

Sending Riley to begin a 12-year prison sentence, Judge Wright warned of the ‘corrosive and insidious’ impact firearms have on communities, and said the overall criminality and seriousness of his offences could not be reflected with concurrent sentences.

She also told him that she did not find that there was anything ‘exceptional’ in Riley’s circumstances or mitigation that meant she could deviate from passing the mandatory minimum sentence. 

Speaking after Riley was jailed, Investigating officer, DC Haider Ali, said: “The seriousness of this offence can be demonstrated by the fact that when Police identified Riley’s potential links to firearms, a warrant was executed at that address, and being aware of police arrival, an item was seen to be going over a fence from the garden where Riley was arrested. This transpired to be a loaded and viable firearm.

"This was observed by the officers and the firearm was quickly recovered. Since then, Riley has been further forensically linked to two more weapons from the storage container which has put him in possession of a significant number of weapons that we have now been able to remove from circulation.

“He is now facing a lengthy spell behind bars after being found guilty at court and this sentence demonstrates that firearms offences will not be tolerated at any level.

“The Armed Crime Team, along with other departments across the force, continue to tackle the use of and possession of firearms across South Yorkshire and I’d encourage anyone with concerns or information to contact police, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”