a day ago
Former PCSO tried to build a gun using 3D printer
A former police community support officer with an 'obsession' for weapons tried to build a gun using a 3D printer.
Zoe Watts, 38, was found with an 'arsenal' at her Lincoln home, with items including parts to make a semi automatic weapon, a machete and a crossbow.
Watts, who previously served as a PCSO with Lincolnshire Police, was arrested during an armed operation on Dec 11.
It came less than four years after she was previously jailed for possessing illegal weapons and manufacturing explosives in 2021.
The latest charge related to Watts trying to make an FGC MK II Nutty semi automatic weapon, jurors at Lincoln Crown Court heard.
Christopher Poole, a ballistics expert for the prosecution, said: 'It was the first in the UK seen of this variant.'
Giving evidence, Mr Poole said 3D printed guns had become an emerging trend where individuals were circumventing firearms laws.
He confirmed videos of similar weapons being discharged were readily available on YouTube, while jurors were shown footage of a similar weapon being discharged at a metal target in America.
Jonathan Dee, prosecuting, explained the initials of the FGC MK II stood for 'F--- gun control'.
When firearms experts tried to put the weapon together, it did not work, but Mr Dee insisted it would have become a 'lethal' prohibited weapon if made correctly.
The 3D printer was found in a cupboard during a search of Watts' home along with many of the parts needed to make the FGC MK II Nutty, including a 'very short' steel barrel.
Other items including a machete, bladed article, crossbow and bow were recovered from Watts' home.
'The defendant had an arsenal, we say this was part of it,' Mr Dee told the jury.
Two days before the search, Mr Dee said Watts had put a search into Google asking: 'Has anybody been killed by a 3D printed gun?'
And a day later, a search was made for the death of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of United Healthcare, who was fatally shot outside a hotel in New York, Mr Dee said.
During her trial, Watts claimed she was actually making a 'fidget' toy gun as a Christmas present.
Watts told the jury she had previously run a YouTube channel dedicated to 'survivalism' and bushcraft.
But a jury at Lincoln Crown Court convicted her of the offence after a five-day trial.
Judge Simon Hirst adjourned sentence until Aug 8 and remanded Watts back into custody.
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.
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.
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