One of Britain's richest men pleaded guilty yesterday to arming himself with a shotgun and shooting his next-door neighbour's annoying burglar alarm in an exclusive Central London neighbourhood.
Keen game shooter Peter Shalson, 53, (pictured) of Hamilton Terrace, St. John's Wood was filmed on security cameras climbing over an iron fence and smashing a glass back door before shooting the burglar alarm control box inside his neighbour's (pic.bottom.r.) house.
Shalson, worth around £175m after selling his coat-hanger and packaging business, dramatically changed his pleas a week before he was due to stand trial at Southwark Crown Court.
He pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence, namely criminal damage, on January 3, last year and causing criminal damage to a door, lamp, window and burglar alarm belonging to Norman and Cindy Dawood.
He maintained his not guilty plea to burglary, with intent to cause criminal damage, and this charge will lie on the file.
"Representations have been made by the defence and the case has been reviewed," prosecutor Mr. Roger Smart told the court. "The charges reflect the same course of conduct."
First-time offender Shalson was bailed until March 28 for sentencing on condition he does not contact his next-door neighbours.
"Clearly it is a case where a report would be suitable," said Shalson's lawyer Mr. Mark Haslam. "It is a sad day."
The defendant's £10m home is currently up for sale. "It is on the market and he may not be there very long," added the lawyer.
Other residents rang 999 after hearing shots in the affluent street and the owners of the house - a family of five - returned from a country break to find the back door smashed, the alarm in pieces and an empty gun cartridge on the floor.
Shalson, who regularly shoots at a hunting lodge near Exmoor, Devon was questioned by police ten days later and eventually charged. He had always maintained his innocence until today.
He made his fortune from coat-hanger company Braitrim, which he transformed into a packaging business and then sold for £109m.
Shalson then became a pub entrepreneur with the company Pubfolio and venture capital group SGI.
"It is all very sad," announced Judge John Price, bailing Shalson.
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