A Shanklin man who was reported missing by his family before being found on Brading Down sat in his car, with a knife in the footwell and imitation firearm in the glove box, has pleaded guilty to 3 possession offences.
Andrew Gatcum, 43, of St John’s Road in Shanklin, pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm, possession of a knife/bladed article in a public place and possession of an offensive weapon when he appeared at the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court on Tuesday (24th January).
Ann Smout, prosecuting, told the court that on 5th January this year, Gatcum was reported missing by his family. He was found by Police later in the day, at around 19:35, sat in his car on Brading Down.
Officers noted that the 43-year-old was visibly upset and distressed when they approached him. When asked if he had a knife in possession, Gatcum pointed toward the footwell where he had a knife. He then told officers that he had a gun in his glovebox too.
The gun that was seized was a BB gun, described in court as very heavy and real looking. It had no ammunition in the chamber.
Gatcum was arrested and taken to Newport Police Station. A search of his address in Shanklin was conducted at the same time.
During the search, officers found another knife – a karambit knife with a curved blade – at his property.
When interviewed by Police, Gatcum made full and frank admissions, saying he went to the rural beauty spot to take his own life and intended on waving the gun in the air hoping the police would take his own life for him, however, he admitted that he didn’t want people to witness such an incident.
The 43-year-old has 2 previous convictions both for being drunk and disorderly back in 1997 and then again in 1998.
Defending, Michael McGoldrick said that Gatcum struggles with numerous personal issues and that he believed that a pre-sentence report evaluating all options was the best way to proceed, citing that time in custody was a real possibility for his client.
The case was adjourned until 24th February to allow a pre-sentence report to be compiled. Gatcum was granted unconditional bail until that time.
Reading the clearly deluded comments about how he should not have been arrested..
Yes, he clearly needed help, but what may he have done to someone else whilst ‘out of his mind’ in order to get police to kill him?
If he wasn’t arrested it would send a clear message to anyone that it’s okay to have these items in their possession, regardless of the reason.
People moan continually about how the police should ‘do their job’ but, when they do, they’re instantly slated for doing so.
If they hadn’t if located and approached him, he may well have killed himself or someone else.. think about that.. and it’s the courts that decide if he should pay a penalty for having such weapons anyway, not the police..
Excuse me Andrew who?