Man jailed after police uncover knife and drugs in man's car in Bristol
Avon and Somerset Police stopped him in the St Paul's area of the city back in September 2023
A 25-year-old man has been jailed after being caught by Avon and Somerset Police officers with knife and drugs in his car in Bristol.
Maurice Villious, known as Marco, was stopped by officers while driving through the St Pauls area of the city during the early hours of 6 September.
In the car, officers uncovered quantities of heroin, cocaine and cannabis as well as knife.
He was taken into custody before being charged with possession with possession with intent to supply heroin and cocaine, possession of cannabis and possession of a bladed article in a public place.
He appeared at Bristol Crown Court yesterday (10 April) having pleaded guilty to the offences at a previous hearing.
He has now been jailed for two years and four months.
This all follows a new proactive operation across the city by Avon and Somerset Police to tackle and disrupt serious violence and knife crime involving young poeple.
This follows a number of fatal stabbings and serious assaults in Bristol and Bath in recent months.
Police have been undertaking high–visibility patrols in areas in which intelligence indicates an increased risk of serious violence, the proactive targeting of habitual knife carriers – those who have come to the attention of police at least twice before regarding possession of a bladed article and knife sweeps of parks and open spaces.
Other work includes working with partners across education, health and social care, and local authorities through local Violence Reduction Partnerships - to raise awareness of the consequences of knife crime.
Inspector Steve Davey said: “Maurice Villious is a habitual knife carrier and poses a serious risk to a certain group of young people as well as vulnerable drug users.
“Officers were concerned at the speed he was driving and after stopping him, saw drug paraphernalia scattered throughout his vehicle, leading them to carry out a search.
“His early guilty plea suggests he appears to be well aware his conduct is criminal and it is right he has not lost his liberty as a result.”
He added: “We are working extremely hard to identify those who pose the biggest risks to young people in our community, as well as those who are most at risk of being harmed to ensure that we can appropriately safeguard them.
“Enforcement, like the arrest of Villious, is not the answer to solving the national knife crime issue and it is only by working with our partners, our communities and families that we will prevent young people from carrying knives and divert them away from serious violence.”
If you are concerned or worried that someone you know may be involved or at risk of serious violence, involving knife crime, please report. You can do so by calling 101, reporting to police online, or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online.
You can surrender any knives or weapons safely and anonymously in one of our weapon surrender bins, which are located in several areas across Bristol and Avon and Somerset, including:
Castle Park, Bristol (near the church, opposite the entrance to The Galleries)
Staple Hill, Broad Street (opposite Page Park)
The Park Centre, Daventry Road, Knowle, BS4 1DQ
Trojan Free Fighters, St Jude’s, BS2 9DA
See the full list of locations on the Avon and Somerset Police website.