A guide to some of the crime stories from Bristol this week
Police have been busy across Bristol this week (Image: Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)
Police have been busy across Bristol this week – with announcements being made over appeals for information, a man admitting to drug offences, and a woman being slapped with a 15-year animal ban.
Also this week, the mother of Max Dixon – the teenager who was killed after an attack Knowle West last year – has spoken out about the sentence handed to her son’s attacker, and a sports ground in South Bristol suffered a “malicious” destruction by vandals.
Here are some of the crime stories from Bristol that have been reported over the last week.
Easton dance event assault
On April 16th, Avon and Somerset Police released images of two men they are hoping to identify in connection with an assault that took place outside a dance event last month.
The incident took place in the early hours of Sunday, March 2nd, between 1am and 1.30am outside the event at the Trinity Centre in Easton. Police said: “Officers investigating an assault in Bristol are appealing for the public’s help to identify these two men. Officers believe they may have information which could aid their enquiries into the incident which took place in the early hours of Sunday 2 March.
“Between 1am and 1.30am, a dance event was being held at the Trinity Centre, in Trinity Road, Easton, Bristol, when it is alleged two men pushed and pulled a female victim to the ground. The victim did not require hospital treatment but is understandably shaken by the incident. If you recognise them, or witnessed the incident, please call us. If you can help, please call 101 and give the call handler the reference number 5225054324, or complete our online appeals form .”
Police investigating the assault are appealing for the public’s help to identify these two menMan admits to drug offences
Also on April 16th, police announced that a man had admitted to drug offences after officers found cocaine and £89,000 in cash the week before in South Gloucestershire. Brynley McCarthy, 25 and of Wildwood Close in Almondsbury, pleaded guilty to two offences after a warrant was executed in Longwell Green.
He appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on April 9th and pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and possession of criminal property. He pleaded not guilty to possession with intent to supply cannabis. McCarthy was remanded in custody to appear at Bristol Crown Court at a future date.
Woman hit with 15-year animal ban
This week a Bristol woman was handed a 15-year animal ban after letting her dog starve to death. Tanya Muriel Margaret Sanderson, 39, of Creswicke Road, pleaded guilty to causing an animal to suffer, following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA.
A post mortem had found that the dog, called Yogi, had an area of damage affecting the left side of the upper jaw and into the nose. His gums and parts of his jaw bone had been completely destroyed. It added that Yogi had been suffering for more than three months, and possibly more than six months. The vet’s report said: “Yogi’s emaciation displays a failure to meet his freedom from hunger or thirst.”
In addition to the animal disqualification order, which cannot be appealed by Sanderson for 10 years, she was also sentenced to 21 weeks custody, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to 30 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) Days when she appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court on April 3. She was arrested and appeared on warrant after failing to attend an earlier hearing.
Max Dixon’s mother condemns judge’s decision
Earlier this week, the mother of Max Dixon, the teenager who was murdered in Bristol last year, slammed a judge for the sentence given out to one of her son’s attackers. Leanne Ekland said the sentence was “an absolute joke”.
The 16-year-old, who cannot be named due to a court order, was sentenced this week for a separate stabbing he carried out 22 hours before the attack on Max and his friend Mason Rist. He received a sentence of four years in youth detention from Judge Peter Blair, and another three on licence – for stabbing a 17-year-old near the Imperial Retail Park in South Bristol, the night before the murder of Max and Mason in Knowle West.
The judge’s decision to have that sentence run concurrently with the life sentence the 16-year-old was handed in December, has sparked backlash. Ekland said:
“Another seven years to run alongside his current sentence, for trying to stab someone less than 24 hours before the attack on our boys.
“So basically, he’s not even been punished for the attack, as it’s not on top of his current punishment. What an absolute joke, no wonder people want to take matters into their own hands – just another kick while we are all down.”
South Bristol sports ground attacked
Vandals have destroyed the toilets at Imperial Sports Ground in South Bristol (Image: Matthew Sach)
An attack on a sports ground in South Bristol has left the toilet block completely unusable. The block was installed at Imperial Sports Ground in West Town Lane in July last year, but 1- months later vandals broke into the site last week and destroyed it.
The general site manager, Matthew Sach, said the urinals, toilets, sinks, and lightning had all been ripped off the walls. He said: “It is completely malicious. There is not one working part in there that we can look at using. This container was really important for so many children that play over there.
“During the best part of a weekend, throughout the football and rugby season, you are probably looking at around 500 people plus that play over there. This toilet was integral to them.”
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset police said: “We received a call shortly before 6pm on Tuesday, April 8 by a member of the public who reported damage was being caused at the sports ground. Officers attended and found damage to toilet facilities. Anyone with information that could assist our enquiries is asked to contact us online, or on 101, quoting reference number 5225100260.”