'Violent man' with 130 offences on criminal record tried to hide gun in garden when stopped by police
“You are a violent man, a man who has a predilection with weapons”
A “violent man” tried to hide a gun in a garden as he fled from police, a court heard.
Ben Dearden was one of three men stopped by police while driving through Burngreave, Sheffield, in February.
He was found to be in possession of two knives and cannabis.
The folllowing month, while on bail, police attempted to stop the 48-year-old as he rode a motorbike without a number plate.
He abandoned the bike and “ran off” into a nearby garden, Sheffield Crown Court was told.
Officers briefly lost track of him, the court heard, but officers tracked him down and found a bag containing a gun and burner phone hidden behind a gate.
Dearden, of Eastwood Court, Rotherham, appeared at court this week to be sentenced after admitting possession of offensive weapon and the possession of drugs charges.
Judge Megan Rhys, sentencing Dearden, said was not the first time he had faced trouble with the law, describing him as having “a significant record relating to weapons, violence and also drugs.”
The court was told that he had more than 40 convictions for more than 130 separate offences.
One of these, in 2004, related to the possession of a converted firearm.
“You are a violent man, a man who has a predilection with weapons,” the judge said when passing sentence.
Dearden has not explained why he was in possession of the gun or where he was taking it on the night he fled from police.
The judge went on to explain how carrying weapons in public can lead to serious harm, potentially to innocent bystanders.
“The recent shooting in Sheffield on West Street at the end of May is a prime example of that,” she continued, referencing the murder of Shanice Brookes.
“A young lady with her life ahead of her and a young son without a mother.”
Shanice was killed when a gun was fired during an altercation on West Street.
Shanice was on a night out and was an innocent bystander.
Dearden was sentenced to a total of six years and eight months’ imprisonment, of which he is expected to spend half in custody and the rest on licence in the community.
“If I had the power to impose an extended sentence, I would have done so, because I consider you a dangerous individual,” the judge warned.