Two men have been jailed after a modified shotgun and multiple shells were found in Bristol. The weapon was found wrapped in a blanket and had been shortened.
David Antill, 59, of no fixed address, and Douglas Harvey, 61, of Woodend in Bristol, were found guilty of firearms offences following a trial at Bristol Crown Court. Both men were sentenced on Monday, January 20.
Police officers carrying out a proactive operation on Monday, December 14, 2020, saw Harvey get out of a vehicle carrying a dark coloured sports bag on Compton Drive in the Sea Mills area. The bag looked heavy and was ‘sagging’ and officers watched him walk towards Antill’s home.
Not long after, the two men walked back towards the car with a holdall which appeared to be empty, police have said. Armed officers stopped the car in Muller Road and both men were arrested.
Antill was found to be in possession of a CS incapacitant spray. Officers searched a property and found a shotgun wrapped in a blanket in a communal area. They also found six shotgun shells with the weapon and a further five close-by.
An investigation was carried out and Harvey was forensically linked to the gun. Phone data also showed Antill’s involvement in a conspiracy to supply a firearm.
Antill was jailed for three years and nine months after being found guilty of possessing a firearm when prohibited for life, as well as possession of the CS incapacitant spray. Both are offences under the Firearms Act 1968.
Harvey was jailed for two years and six months after being found guilty of possessing a shortened shotgun and of selling or transferring a firearm to a person who is not a firearms certificate holder.
Senior Investigating Officer Det Insp Tim Seaman said: “Firearms offences remain thankfully rare in our area, but it’s important we remain vigilant and relentless in our efforts to recover these fatal weapons.
“We’ll continue to carry out targeted and intelligence-led operations to prevent harm and to do all we can to take weapons like this out of circulation.”
Det Con Ross Chambers added: “This successful police operation resulted in a modified illegal weapon being taken off the streets of Bristol.
“Weapons like the one seized can be used in the commission of further offences which can too easily result in horrific consequences.
“We were able to link both defendants definitively to this crime and welcome the convictions and jail sentences given in this case.”