Teen pointed gun at man’s head near Big Cheese Festival

A teenager approached a man near Caerphilly’s busy Big Cheese Festival and pointed a handgun at his head before firing it into the ground, a court has heard.

Keiron Harper, 18, knocked on the window of his victim’s car on Windsor Street in Caerphilly town centre on 30 August this year. When the driver got out to see what he wanted, Harper produced a Beretta air pistol and pointed it directly at the man’s head with his finger on the trigger.

Swansea Crown Court heard Harper told the man: “Look at my gun. Do you want to see my gun?” He then lowered the weapon and fired it into the ground before raising it and pointing it at his victim’s head again.

A steward working at the nearby Big Cheese Festival intervened and told Harper he was being videoed. The defendant responded by raising his middle finger to the steward, pulling up his hood, and walking off.

Police later seized the Beretta gas-powered pistol along with ammunition and two gas canisters. The court heard Harper had bought the weapon with proceeds from his government Child Trust Fund.

In a statement read to court, the victim said he was afraid Harper would find out where he lives and come to his house and kill him. He said: “The incident had impacted him more than he could ever have imagined, and he said he had been studying business and information technology in order better himself but now does not know if he can carry on.”

Harper, of Bailey Street, Brynmawr, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He has no previous convictions.

Defence barrister Edward Mitchard told the court Harper had experienced a “very difficult upbringing” and spent time in the care system. He said the defendant had been arrested some 30 times over the years but no intervention had been put in place, describing him as “a young man who fell through the gaps” who had “effectively been left to fend for himself”.

The court heard Harper had achieved enhanced prisoner status whilst on remand and acted as a mentor for other young inmates who were care leavers. For the first time in his life, he was seeing a psychologist and had received a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Judge Paul Hobson said it was clear that at the time of the offence Harper was using drugs frequently if not daily and was living a “chaotic” life without stable accommodation, moving from family member to family member and spending time living in a house of multiple occupancy and at one stage in a tent.

The judge said it must have been a terrifying experience for the victim to be confronted by a young man brandishing a weapon, and he said the Big Cheese Festival steward who intervened was to be commended for his “brave and public-spirited” actions.

With one-third discounts for his guilty pleas, Harper was sentenced to three years detention in a young offenders institution. He will serve 40 per cent of the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.

Judge Hobson told the teenager he hoped that he could spend his time in custody positively and come out “in a better place and able to lead a positive life”.