'I'll kill you with it, wait and see' - man's shotgun threat to police officers

A WIGAN man repeatedly threatened to 'blow the heads off' police and community support officers with a shotgun he had stolen in a burglary, a court heard.
Liverpool Crown CourtLiverpool Crown Court
Liverpool Crown Court

Philip Blackburn was at Wigan police station having been arrested in relation to other offences and while there, because of his behaviour, it was decided to take him to hospital for assessment.

While waiting for transport that morning the 30-year-old was kept in the custody suite and two custody detention officers went to check on him. He was sitting on the floor and began issuing threats, claimed Henry Riding, prosecuting.

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“He said whenever he got out, even after 14 years, he had a shotgun and was going to blow people’s heads off. To back up the threats he told the officers he had committed a burglary in the Culcheth area of Warrington in which he stole a shotgun and they could check up on their computers.

“He repeated his threats to shoot various people, specifically police officers and also support officers, particularly community support officer David Radcliffe and also local beat bobby Brian Gough,” alleged Mr Riding.

“He said, ‘I’ll do a 14-year stretch no problem because when I get out I know where the shotgun is. I’ll kill you with it, wait and see’.”

He was taken to Wigan Infirmary where he continued making threats about shooting officers with the shotgun.

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He claimed that certain PCSOs from Wigan were always following him around and repeated he would blow their heads off and his ex-girlfriend’s friend David Smith.

Asked about the weapon he said he had stolen it from a cabinet in a the garage of a detached house in Culcheth along with three boxes of ammunition. He said it was an automatic side loading Beretta .

Mr Riding told the jury at Liverpool Crown Court that Blackburn “appeared very calm and very serious” and the officers were of the view he was more than capable of carrying out the threats he was repeatedly making.

The next day, September 11 last year, he was admitted to the Lakeside ward at Leigh Infirmary.

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While there he repeated threats to a mental health nurse and claimed there was a conspiracy among various police community support officers to prevent him from seeing his son. He said he had monitored the house from where he stole the shotgun for a few days and intended killing PCSO Radcliffe and Brian Gough.

Mr Riding claimed that when interviewed by police, after being discharged from hospital on September 15, he said that after shooting other people he was going to blow his own head off.

He refused to disclose where he had hidden the shotgun and said he would get it and use it when released from custody. Further questioned about its whereabouts he suggested Lancashire and asked if they knew how many farms there were in the county.

He said he was going to use it to get his own back and when asked if he was going to use it on the police he replied, “There are 75 cartridges, how many officers do you think there are in the police station?”

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Blackburn, of no fixed address, but formerly of Ashton-in-Makerfield, has pleaded not guilty to burglary, possession of a Beretta shotgun and ammunition while prohibited and with intent to endanger life and three offences of making threats to kill.

Proceeding