Latest news with #3Dprintedgun
Irish Times
09-08-2025
- Irish Times
Man charged with carrying 3D printed gun in Dublin granted bail
A construction worker stopped in Dublin and charged with carrying a 3D-printed gun and ammunition has been granted bail. Valeriju Voronenko (50), a Lithuanian national with an address at Gardiner Street, Dublin 1, was arrested at Stable Lane in Smithfield on Friday. He appeared before Judge Stephanie Coggans at Dublin District Court on Saturday, charged with four Firearms Act offences. The charges include two counts of unlawful possession of a 3D-printed Harlot pistol and eight rounds of .22 ammunition. The other two charges allege that he had the gun and ammunition in suspicious circumstances. READ MORE Garda Paul O'Reilly alleged the items were found in a sports bag. The offences, on conviction, are punishable by sentences of up to five and 14 years. Following submissions by defence counsel Kevin McCrave, bail was granted subject to strict conditions. Mr Voronenko must surrender his passport, observe an 11pm-8am curfew and provide a phone number to gardaí. He was ordered not to apply for replacement travel documents and remanded on bail in his bond of €500. Mr Voronenko, who has yet to enter a plea, is due to appear again in September, for directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions to be conveyed.
Sky News
08-08-2025
- Sky News
Former PCSO jailed for trying to make 3D printer gun
A former police community support officer who was "obsessed with weapons" has been jailed after trying to make a gun using a 3D printer. Zoe Watts, 39, of St Helen's Avenue, Lincoln, has been jailed for eight years and six months after she was found with weapons, including knives and a crossbow, alongside parts for 3D printed guns during a raid on her home on 11 December, Lincolnshire Police said. She was also given a forfeiture and destruction order, and will be subject to a serious crime prevention order for five years following her release. Watts was sentenced on Friday at Lincoln Crown Court following a lengthy investigation that involved multiple departments. Judge Simon Hirst told Watts, who appeared at the hearing via video link from HMP Downview in Surrey, that he realised custody would be more difficult for her because of her neurodivergence, her previous police career and her transgender identity. The conviction and sentencing are the first of their kind in the UK for this type of offence, Lincolnshire Police said. She was arrested by armed officers last December, after she was pulled over while driving her car in Lincoln. Lincolnshire Police received information that Watts was buying illegal material online. Officers searched her house while she was away. They found an "Aladdin's cave" of weapons, police said. They also discovered a number of "worrying searches" online. Police said Watts had used Google to ask, "has anybody been killed by a 3D printed gun?" and was looking for ways to buy new weapons. She told officers she was creating the weapons as toys before she was convicted earlier this year. Detective inspector Gemma Skipworth said: "This sends a clear message that if you're doing something wrong behind closed doors, it doesn't mean you're safe and can break the rules with impunity. "3D printers are becoming more and more popular, and people are naturally exploring what they can do with this technology." She said downloading plans and using a machine to produce something like a firearm, means "you're breaking the rules" and if you are caught, you will face a lengthy jail sentence. "This case shows how committed my colleagues are to keeping the people of Lincolnshire safe and I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who worked on this case," Skipworth added.
Daily Mail
08-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Trans former police support officer obsessed with weapons jailed for eight years after trying to make semi-automatic gun using 3D printer
A transgender former Police Community Support Officer who used a 3D printer to try and make a semi-automatic weapon at home was jailed today for eight years and six months. Jurors were told Zoe Watts, 39, had an with an 'obsession' for weapons and attempted to make the lethal weapon to 'sneak past law enforcement'. Jonathon Dee, prosecuting, said the initials of the 'semi-automatic' FGC MK II Nutty weapon attempted to be made by Watts stood for the words 'F**k gun control.' Watts was convicted in June of using a 3D printer to try and make a lethal firearm after jurors discounted the defendant's claim that she had been making a 'fidget' toy gun as a Christmas present. Sentencing her this morning, Judge Simon Hirst said Watts had a 'deeply troubling internet search history.' Watts had previously worked as a Lincolnshire PCSO for more than eight years an once ran a survivalist YouTube channel. The judge acknowledged that Watts would find custody difficutl due to her neurodivergence, previous policing career and 'transgender identity' but said she would have to serve half of her sentence before being relesed on licence. Watts is believed to be the first person in the UK to be convicted of attempting to manufacture such a prohibited gun with a 3D printer. The prosecutor said today that it was the first time 'this particular weapon has been found in this country'. The defendant appeared for sentencing at Lincoln Crown Court today via videolink from HMP Downview in Sutton, Surrey. She was arrested after armed police were deployed to her home in Lincoln last December and uncovered an 'arsenal' of weapons at the address. Jurors heard Watts, who has previous convictions for possessing illegal weapons and manufacturing explosives, had Googled two days before her arrest: 'Has anybody been killed by a 3D printed gun?' The prosecutor said the offence required a degree of planning - it took Watts at least two weeks to manufacture the weapon 'as each individual component had to be printed'. Jurors heard police recovered a 3D printer from a cupboard in Watts' home along with many of the parts needed to make a gun. When firearms experts tried to put the weapon together it did not work but the prosecution said it would be a 'lethal' prohibited weapon if manufactured correctly. Mr Dee told Lincoln Crown Court: 'If this item had been made correctly it would have been a prohibited firearm.' There was no issue it was Watts who was responsible for making the item, Mr Dee told the jury. As well as the 3D printer, metal parts including screws, bolts and a 'very short barrel' were recovered, Mr Dee said. The court heard today that Watts was 'acting alone' rather than part of a wider group. Mr Dee said aggravating factors were Watts' previous convictions and the fact the semi-automatic weapon she was trying to construct was capable of firing 33 bullets within 15 seconds. But he said today that 'the Crown would have to accept' that Watts 'neurodivergence' was in part a reason for why the offence was committed. A pre-sentence report said she was suffering from gender dysphoria, which the NHS describes as 'a sense of unease that a person may have because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity.' The report said Watts could be considered vulnerable due to 'her neurodivergence in transgender identity'. Stuart Lody, defending, said Watts was not a danger to other people, adding that she had a 'childlike quality'. 'There's an innocence which can lead to her putting herself in danger, quite unwittingly', he added. Mr Lody said Watts had expressed sorrow over her actions 'potentially negatively affecting the way the lesbian, gay and transgender community are viewed and she regrets all of that'. The jury heard other items including a machete, crossbow, bladed article and bow were recovered from Watts' home. 'The defendant had an arsenal, we say this was part of it,' Mr Dee alleged. Mr Dee said Watts had also made internet searches relating to samurai swords, knives and guns. On December 10, Mr Dee alleged, Watts put a search into Google asking: 'Has anybody been killed by a 3D printed gun?' And the following day, a search was made for the death of Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare, who had recently been fatally shot outside a hotel in New York, Mr Dee told the jury. Mr Dee told the jury it was the prosecution case 'this was a lethal weapon, you can make on your own, and sneak past law enforcement.' During the trial, jurors were shown a YouTube video of a person firing a similar weapon, to illustrate the nature of the kind of weapon Watts was trying to construct. Watts told jurors 'Christmas is a very important time for me' and said she was using the 3D printer to make items for those important to her. 'If I can 3D print something rather then purchase it, that is what I will do,' Watts added. Watts said she became aware of the FGC 9 through an internet article but she had no intention of making one herself. 'I thought it was a good base for making a fidget gun,' Watts explained. Watts told jurors 'weapons' had become normalised during her childhood and she also 'carried tools' during her previous career as a PCSO. The trial heard she used to run a YouTube channel dedicated to survivalism and bushcraft. Watts was previously jailed for 27 months in July 2021 after she 'hoarded' banned weapons and explosive substances and also made an improvised explosive device. (IED) She had admitted making an improvised explosive device, three charges of possession of a prohibited weapon and two counts of inappropriately importing goods. Police also found a stun gun, butterfly knives and an illegal electric fly-swatter during a raid in October 2020. On that occasion Watts had made an explosive device out of a modified shotgun cartridge. A copy of the Anarchist Cookbook - a bomb-making instruction manual - was found on the floor, as well as a homemade wick she produced from a tampon. Police also found a modified fly swatter able to discharge noxious substances and a wooden sawn-off gun used as 'a prop', the court in 2021 heard. Dangerous substances - including nitroglycerine, potassium nitrate and nitrocellulose - were found in a cupboard shelving area.
