Terminally ill Middlesbrough aid boss avoids jail over firearms offences

James Jones received a suspended sentence as he is dying

The boss of an aid organisation who admitted a string of firearms and drugs offences has been handed a suspended sentence because he is terminally ill.

James Jones, 74, ran Convoy Aid Romania on Teesside for 30 years and staged mercy missions to Eastern Europe.

In 2019 customs officers found a pistol, a shotgun, bullets and cannabis at a storage unit and in Jones' home and car, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Jones claimed the weapons were handed in with clothes as part of a donation.

He said he held on to them with the intention of handing them in during the next firearms amnesty.

Prosecutor Paul Mitchell said Jones' account was "intrinsically unbelievable" and a well publicised amnesty had in fact taken place during the period leading up to his arrest.

'Sorry state of affairs'

The court heard how investigators went to a unit in Stockton and found a 9mm pistol, a shortened double-barrelled shotgun and handgun components.

They also recovered £26,636 in cash in a leather wash bag and 45,000 cigarettes.

A subsequent search of Jones' Middlesbrough home and car revealed 48 sealed bags of cannabis in a tool box and a shotgun in a bedroom.

Robert Mochrie, mitigating, said Jones, who watched the proceedings from a bed at home, is close to death. He is suffering from a chronic lung condition and requires oxygen.

Mr Mochrie told the court: "He appreciates that he is approaching the end of his life and has less than 12 months to live. It is a sorry state of affairs for this defendant."

Jones, also known as Rod, pleaded guilty to offences including possession of a shotgun, a handgun and criminal property - the £26,636 in cash.

He also admitted fraudulently evading tobacco duty worth more than £19,000.

The court heard Jones, of Douglas Court, has a long criminal history dating back to 1961 and had been convicted under the Larceny Act in 1966 as well as for offences of dishonesty.

Judge Howard Crowson said the defendant's latest crimes would normally bring a "substantial" prison term, but instead imposed a two-year sentence, suspended for 12 months, because of his dire health.

He also ordered that the guns and drugs be destroyed.