A nightclub doorman who was caught with an illegal stun gun escaped an immediate jail sentence.
The stun gun, disguised as a torch, was discovered when police searched Frederick Marriott’s car in January.
On Tuesday, Andrew Scott, prosecuting at Lincoln Crown Court, said the weapon was on the back seat. Illegal CS gas spray was also found in the centre console.
The stun gun was later examined and found to have a fault which prevented it from working correctly.
Marriott told officers that the stun gun had been given to him by a work colleague nine months earlier.
Mr Scott said “It was given to him when he started work in Boston. He was told he would need it because some Boston families were quite rough.”
Officers also found two mobile phones at Marriott’s home. Both had been stolen by Marriott from the lost property section at the Boston nightclub where he worked.
Marriott (30), of Kings Road, Spalding, admitted charges of possession of a disguised firearm and possession of a prohibited weapon on January 19. He also admitted theft of two mobile phones.
He was given a two-year jail sentence suspended for 12 months with 200 hours’ of unpaid work after Judge Michael Heath told him there were “exceptional circumstances” about the case which meant he could avoid imposing an immediate custodial sentence.
Neil Sands, defending, said Marriott never used the stun gun and had no equipment to charge it up.
“This was a complete departure from his otherwise law abiding behaviour.
“Mr Marriott had received a number of injuries including a fractured eye socket and broken cheekbone.
“The stun gun was pressed upon him by someone who gave the appearance of being a well-meaning friend and was, at the time, a fellow door supervisor.
“It was a fully working torch. He says that on occasions he used it as a torch but he never used it as a stun gun.”