Dangerous Dudley man 'fascinated with murder' had stockpile of guns in suitcase

A dangerous man who had a "fascination with murder" was found with an arsenal of weapons hidden in a suitcase at his home in Dudley.

Frankie Burton had created what West Midlands Police described as a "weapons factory" where he had stockpiled guns he had converted and other weapons, including combat knives and ammunition.

Officers also discovered Burton, of Roberts Green Road, in Upper Gornal, had researched how to carry out "headshots" and had viewed videos on reloading ammunition.

The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to a number of offences when he appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court including the possession of firearms, possession of ammunition, possession of CS Spray as well as pleading guilty to having no licenses to keep guns.

He has now been jailed for six years and four months.

Arsenal of weapons

Police swooped on Burton's home back on April 20, last year, to arrest him over a suspected arson attack.

Inside his bedroom officers found a suitcase with an arsenal of weapons including homemade guns, an ammunition box containing 17 bullets with a mix of live and blank rounds, eight hunting and flick knives as well as a knuckleduster, baseball bat and stab-proof vest.  

Police also discovered a number of tools which could be used to assemble homemade ammunition and convert the firearms into deadly weapons. 

Members of the force then checked the loft at his home and discovered further guns, 10 live bullets and a CS canister spray. 

Burton was arrested and taken into custody.

'Fascination with murder'

Officers carried out a thorough investigation where Burton’s "fascination with murder" was revealed.

On the internet he had been researching how to carry out "headshots" and took an interest in cases of people convicted for firearms conversion, as well as sentencing guidelines.

Detective Inspector Lisa Jackson, from the force's priority and vulnerabilities team, said: “We discovered Burton was stockpiling an arsenal of weapons at his home including homemade guns he was converting as well as hoarding knives.

“Burton had a fascination with murder and viewed videos on reloading ammunition and had documents with a step by step guide.

"He took an interest in murder probes across the country and researched anatomy of headshots as well as looking into convictions related to firearms conversion convictions and sentencing guidelines. 

“The judge today rightly described this as a "worrying case" and found that his interest in firearms conversion was for an unknown criminal purpose, rather than a hobby, as had been suggested.

“He was described in court as a ‘troubling individual’ and a risk to the public, so we’re pleased that he’s behind bars today.”

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