Jailed: Wembley mother who hid guns in the home she shared with her three young children
Tawana Blake has been jailed for six-and-a-half years (Pic: Met Police) - Credit: Archant
A mother who stored a pump-action shotgun and a revolver in the home she shares with her three young children in Wembley has been jailed.
Tawana Blake, 32, was paid by a gang to hide the lethal weapons at her address in Ealing Road.
She was caught when a 16-year-old boy was sent to collect the 12-bore Mossberg.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was being watched by undercover police officers who witnessed him leave her house with a holdall containing the shotgun.
The teenager was arrested as he travelled to his destination in a minicab.
Blake’s home was raided where the revolver and £1,000 in cash were uncovered.
The Old Bailey Blake’s children aged seven, five and three, were living at the same address.
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Jailing her for six-an-a-half years today, Judge Michael Wood, QC, said: “People who are prepared to store firearms provide a service to serious criminals provide a service by distancing those criminals from the police and reduce the risk of them being convicted.
“The fact you were paid as a reward for storing these firearms is also significant.”
The 16-year-old from Hillingdon, was jailed for four-and-a-half years his role in the plot.
Robert Hewitt, 42, of Connaught Road, Harlesden, was jailed for 11 years for organising the transfer of the shotgun in a series of text messages with Blake.
Blake initially denied conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon, possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of criminal property and possession of ammunition, but pleaded guilty on the first day of her trial in August.
The boy and Hewitt were found guilty of conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon for sale or transfer between 18 January and 22 January 2016.
Corey Callender, 22, from Bushey, was acquitted of conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon.