Nathan Rochester jailed for guns in mattress and drug offences
- Published
Nathan Rochester went on the run in 2016 after Class A drugs were found in his possession
A man who hid guns inside a mattress while he was on the run for drugs offences has been jailed.
Nathan Rochester, 32, failed to attend his trial on drugs charges in August last year.
He was found at his home in Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, this year with a loaded pistol and sawn-off shotgun.
Rochester was sentenced to nine years in jail for firearms and drugs offences, at Nottingham Crown Court.
Nottinghamshire Police said he was initially arrested after heroin and crack cocaine was found during a raid in Aspley in February 2015.
Rochester had pleaded not guilty to two counts of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply and was due to stand trial.
Rochester was found in July at his home and also arrested for having a loaded pistol and sawn-off shotgun
He went on the run, but was found almost a year later during a raid at his home on Shelford Road.
Officers found a slit in the mattress and discovered a sawn-off shotgun, two cartridges and a self-loading pistol containing a bullet in its chamber.
Police said Rochester had also adapted a blank bullet to make it "live" and another bullet for the handgun was discovered in a bag under the kitchen sink.
Last month, he pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm and the previous drugs charges.
Rochester was sentenced to five years for the firearm offences and a further four years for the drugs offences.
Insp Craig Berry, of Rushcliffe Neighbourhood, said: "Nathan Rochester... made crude attempts to hide the evidence.
"Over the past year he's been attempting to evade officers in relation to his drugs offences, but his criminal dealings have eventually caught up with him."