Glasgow man jailed over gun threat
A Glasgow gunman who pointed a revolver at a Syrian man and his friends was jailed for five years today.
A Glasgow gunman who pointed a revolver at a Syrian man and his friends was jailed for five years today.
William Harvey levelled the weapon at Said Shekhe and five others who were helping him to move furniture into a house.
All the Arabic speaking men were from Syria and were in fear for their lives as the handgun was trained on each of them in turn.
Harvey, 28, returned to his nearby home in Connal Street, in Glasgow, and police later recovered the weapon, which contained one live round, hidden on a beam in the stairwell.
A judge told Harvey at the High Court in Edinburgh that he had "effectively threatened wholly innocent people who must have been absolutely terrified".
Lady Rae said his conduct merited "a very significant sentence" but added there were other factors put before her which she could not ignore.
The judge told Harvey he clearly had a very tragic background with a number of tragedies occurring in his life, but added none of that excused what he had done.
She pointed out that a firearms offence Harvey had earlier admitted carried a minimum sentence of five years' imprisonment.
The judge told him: "I do hope you take advantage of the period you are in custody. It is obvious you need at the very least psychological help and bereavement counselling."
Harvey had admitted illegal possession of the firearm and ammunition, having the gun with intent to cause victims that violence would be used against them and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner on November 22 last year.
Mr Shekhe and the other Syrian men, who were all in their 20s, were unloading furniture when Harvey initially approached them and began shouting aggressively.
They could not understand what he was saying and thought he was under the influence of drink or drugs.
Harvey returned several times to shout at them and at one stage kicked the door of a parked car and climbed onto another and kicked the bonnet and roof before reappearing with the gun.
Harvey, who has previous convictions for violence, disorder and drugs with offences containing racial, religious and sexual aggravations, was detained at his home by police after armed response officers were called in. His DNA was found on the gun.
Defence solicitor advocate Kate Phillips said Harvey had been the victim of serious violence in the past and witnessed the murder of his best friend.
She said: "He literally became a recluse and was living in fear of further attempts on his life."
But he had made positive changes in his life with the help of a partner following an earlier prison sentence.
But an aunt who was like a second mother to him had died followed by the death of his mother. Ms Phillips said: "This had a devastating impact on him. He was extremely close to his mother and quite simply he went off the rails when she died."
She said Harvey had started taking drugs again and at the time of the offence had been drinking and consuming crack cocaine.
"He fully appreciates and understands the fear and alarm he caused to these men and he appreciates how terrifying it must have been for them," she said.
She added that he was "deeply ashamed" of his behaviour and told the court: "He is only 28 and he is absolutely determined to turn his life around."