Man jailed after pointing fake gun at ‘frightened’ members of the public in Northampton park

A Northampton man has been sent to prison after threatening members of the public with an imitation firearm.

Daniel Barden, aged 34, previously of Derwent Drive, was walking his dog in a park just off St Andrew’s Road at around 10am on April 7 earlier this year when he emerged from a wooded area with what appeared to be a shotgun.

He pointed the imitation firearm at a male member of the public, asking him repeatedly if he had stolen his bullets, Northampton Crown Court heard on Monday, July 17.

Barden then told the man to lay down and the victim kneeled. The ‘shotgun’ was just six inches away from his head.

Andrew Fitch-Holland, prosecuting, said Barden eventually allowed the man to get back up and began questioning him about whether he had stolen fish from the river. Barden said he had more weapons concealed in the wooded area and he threw his gun at the man, saying he had no need for it because he was about to take his own life.

The court heard that Barden then picked the gun back up and pointed it at a woman. He pulled the trigger and it made a ‘click’ sound but nothing happened, the court heard.

Barden then pushed the muzzle of the gun into the man’s chest, asking him if he could be trusted not to call the police.

Just 30 minutes later, a second member of the public who was walking his dog in the park, asked Barden to put his dog on a lead.

“I am going to put you down,” Barden told the dog-walker as he pointed his gun at them. He then lowered the gun and said, “I am going to smash you.”

As Barden walked away, the second victim was able to take a photograph of the defendant on their phone.

Barden was later found at his parent’s house intoxicated and, when he was arrested, he remarked to police officers: “What, for a water pistol?” The firearm was never found.

The 34-year-old answered no comment to all questions when interviewed by police. He has had 17 previous court appearances, including for kidnapping, affray and burglary.

Daniel Green, in mitigation, said that - in the days that preceded the imitation firearm incidents, Barden was at the “peak” of drink and drug problems that dated back to May 2022. He said that Barden sought help from his partner to no avail, which “shows that he’s clearly reflecting that is what he needs to do.”

“He’s embarrassed about it,” Mr Green told the court, “He wants to get on top of everything and be the father and partner that he ought to be.

His Honour Judge David Herbert KC said: “It may not have been real and I am not sentencing you on that basis but it certainly looked real.

He continued: “At times during that incident, [the victims] were extremely scared and very distressed at what was happening.”

Barden, after pleading guilty to two counts of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.