iStockA masked man caught with a paintball gun in public claimed that he was looking for a paedophile.
Ryan Gallagher, 26, was seen with the weapon under his arm in Glasgow’s Yorkhill area on April 8, 2024.
Glasgow Sheriff Court heard how two witnesses outside Duke’s Bar spotted Gallagher, who was also wearing a hood, around midnight.
The pair watched as Gallagher spoke to a man across the road in the common close of a block of flats.
The man was heard to tell Gallagher to leave, but he did not want to.
Prosecutor Darren Harty stated: “Gallagher said he wanted to see a man called Martin, who was a paedophile in the area.
“He said that he would ‘catch the b******’ and asked the man to ‘show me his house’ and ‘where does he stay’.
Gallagher claimed that he had a licence for “this thing” and that he needed to charge a gas cannister for it.
Firearms officers attended the scene and found Gallagher on the third floor of the property.
Gallagher was then arrested after other officers arrived.
The weapon was described as a “gas-powered paintball gun capable of being discharged with kinetic energy.”
Gallagher pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause unknown people to believe unlawful violence would be used against him.
It was revealed that Gallagher, of Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, has one previous conviction, which was a road traffic matter.
The sentence was deferred pending background reports until next month by Sheriff Jonathan Guy, who granted Gallagher bail.
The sheriff said: “Don’t take that a non-custodial sentence is likely in this case.”
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