A kitchen worker who was arrested by armed police after pointing an air gun at a stranger on a Spalding street was today (Thursday) jailed for eight months.
Adam Szeliga, 27, was spotted holding the weapon near the Graffiti Bar in Westlode Street on 22 April last year.
Lincoln Crown Court heard Szeliga retreated into his home at around 3pm after noticing the officers.
Andrew Lister, prosecuting, said: “Armed police were on patrol in Spalding when they noticed a male outside the Graffiti Bar holding what appeared to be a handgun in his left hand.
“The male was later identified as Mr Szeliga.”
Police did not find the weapon during an initial search of Szeliga’s flat but discovered the air gun hidden behind a washing machine when they returned on April 23.
CCTV from a camera on Westlode Street showed Szeliga raising the weapon and pointing it at a man who was walking down the road.
Forensic tests on the weapon showed it was a Webley Tempest air gun which did not require a firearms certificate.
The court heard no ammunition for the air gun was found and there was no evidence it had been loaded.
During his police interview Szeliga admitted standing in the street with the weapon but claimed it was either made of chocolate or a lighter. He also denied hiding it.
Szeliga, of Westlode Street, Spalding, pleaded guilty to having an air gun in a public place on 22 April 2025.
He also admitted breaching a 15 month suspended jail sentence which was passed on him at Lincoln Crown Court in March 2025 for setting fire to a Range Rover in Pennygate, Spalding, on 13 May 2024.
Mr Jeyes argued Szeliga’s offending was ‘stupid’ and ‘almost childlike’ as a result of his amphetamine addiction.
“He has come to court with his bags. He recognises the seriousness of his situation,” Mr Jeyes admitted.
Mr Jeyes added: “The person who the weapon was pointed at did not appear to react and take it too seriously.”
Passing sentence Judge Catarina Sjolin-Knight told Szeliga: “This was a busy street. There were people driving and walking by. “
