A man who caused a six-hour stand-off with police after he claimed he had a gun has been jailed.
Sean Paxton was jailed for nine months yesterday at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, after causing the major police operation in the early hours of Boxing Day.
The 47-year-old sparked the alarm when he phoned 999 and told control room staff that he was intent on “blowing his brains out” with the weapon he supposedly had.
Armed police surrounded the house on Hilton Drive, Aberdeen, sealing off the surrounding area.
After police eventually persuaded Paxton to leave his home, they searched the house but did not find a gun.
The court heard that the drama unfolded shortly after 1.50am, when Paxton called the police.
Fiscal depute Lixia Sun said: “Police traced the call made, and officers were sent to advise residents not to try gaining access to their houses or to stay indoors.
“Paxton refused to leave the property, so negotiators were called and an armed response unit was dispatched into the area.
“They remained there for several hours before Paxton agreed to leave his house.
“The street is on a main bus route, which caused buses to detour elsewhere for about six hours.”
Paxton yesterday admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by “repeatedly making threats to discharge a firearm”.
He also admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards police officers during a separate incident on Monday, January 8.
On that occasion, police were called to his home at 10.30pm in response to a smell of petrol.
Ms Sun said Paxton would not grant the officers entry and shouted and swore at them.
The court heard that the property next door was evacuated when Paxton threatened to start a fire, but that police ultimately negotiated persuaded him to let them in at 11.30pm.
Defence agent Iain McGregor said Paxton had been regularly abusing butane gas around the turn of the year while occasionally taking crack cocaine.
He added: “My client is someone who has struggled with a fairly serious drug problem, but he is eager to try and break that circle.”
Last night, one neighbour said he heard officers banging on Paxton’s door at about 6am on Boxing Day.
Another said that despite the drama, Paxton was a “harmless guy” who often helped his neighbours.
Jailing him, Sheriff Graham Buchanan said: “These were empty threats but they caused considerable upset and inconvenience.”
Paxton was jailed for six months for the Boxing Day incident and three months for the subsequent offence.
