Former Guiseley footballer jailed for gun and drugs crimes (From Wharfedale Observer)

Former Guiseley footballer jailed for gun and drugs crimes

9:21am Thursday 25th October 2012 in News By Jim Jack

A semi-professional footballer who was found with a loaded gun and more than £7,000 worth of drugs has been jailed for seven and a half years.

Delroy Ferguson, 26, a former Guiseley AFC reserve team player, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court after being found guilty of possessing a class B drug with intent to supply.

Ferguson, who has also played for Garforth Town and Wakefield, had already pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a prohibited firearm and ammunition.

Police officers had found a Browning handgun, with a bullet in the chamber, along with a silencer and a magazine with more ammunition when they raided his home in Louis Street, Chapeltown, Leeds, in August.

They also discovered a bag containing 361 grammes of the drug Methlenedioxypyrovalerone, with an estimated street value of £7,220.

Ferguson, who has been given a five-and-a-half-year sentence for the firearm offences and two years for the drugs, claimed he had found both in a neighbour’s garden.

Judge Christopher Batty told the player that, as a “role model” who had worked with young people at Chapeltown Youth Development Centre, he had let his family and his community down – and by concealing the gun and bullets, allowed a “lethal firearm ... to remain in the criminal underworld”.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Jaz Khan, from West Yorkshire Police’s Crime Division, said: “I am pleased with the conviction, which reflects the intrinsic link between drugs and firearms.

“Recovering weapons with live ammunition is rare, and I would like to take this opportunity to reassure local people that tackling firearm-related crime remains a very high priority for us.

“This conviction should act as a demonstration of the work we are achieving in this area.”