Three men from Bristol have been jailed after they drove to Plymouth at the height of the first Covid lockdown, with wads of counterfeit £50 notes and drugs.
The three were pulled over by police who were suspicious at what three men in a car were doing driving around Plymouth, a court has heard.
The three gave different reasons why they had travelled two hours and 122 miles from Bristol, on April 23, 2020 - just a month after lockdown was called and when people were only allowed out for an hour for exercise.
Read more: Historic bridge destroyed at new Bristol recycling centre site
Plymouth Crown Court heard that the three men were found in Embankment Lane, Plymouth with a total of 26 fake £50 notes and cannabis, and all three were jailed.
Martin Lawrence, 23, from Sunnybank in Speedwell, and Daniel King, 24, of Hillside Road, Kingswood, had earlier pleaded guilty to carrying counterfeit cash and were jailed for 12 months and 18 months respectively, reports Plymouth Live.
Martin’s brother Michael Lawrence, also 23 and also of Sunnybank in Speedwell, had pleaded ‘not guilty’, so his case went to trial. He denied involvement and said he was just a passenger in the Vauxhall Adam. He said his brother and their friend had picked him up in Bristol and they had gone to get Caribbean food in the city. Lawrence then claimed he was on Facebook talking to a woman in Plymouth who said she was having a party.
He said that it was almost his 21st birthday and they decided to make the 120-mile road trip despite lockdown rules. The court heard they were stopped with the cash and the drugs before they arrived.
Michael Lawrence was not linked to the cannabis but an officer who searched him said that he pulled two fake £50 notes from his pocket. His thumbprint was also found on a counterfeit note.
Lawrence claimed in vain that he knew nothing of the cash and only touched a single note when his brother Martin threw it at him as police pulled them over. The court also heard that Michael Lawrence had a previous conviction for handling counterfeit money - alongside King.
Mr Recorder Tim Kenefick noted that Lawrence had 10 previous convictions for 22 offences including a conviction for possession of counterfeit currency in 2017. On that occasion he was handed an eight month jail sentence.
On April 23, 2020, the court heard police who stopped the Vauxhall Adam became even more suspicious when the men gave different explanations for their two-hour trip. One claimed that they were going to a shop in Plymouth - though was at a loss to explain which one. Officers also found cannabis and 26 fake £50 banknotes within the vehicle.
Lawrence was found guilty and Recorder Kenefick, in sentencing Michael Lawrence, noted how his brother was the driver with King in the back seat and that the officers found 24 fake £50 notes under the driver's seat, with further notes hidden in King's trousers and the two notes in Lawrence's pocket. He said that in total police found £2,300 worth of fake £50 notes.
Mr Recorder Kenefick accepted that Lawrence's brother Martin had passed the larger bundle to him to hide, but that Lawrence threw it back, leaving his brother to shove the dodgy cash under his seat. He also accepted that the evidence from his brother's phone, and his brother's confession, underscored that it was his brother who bought the counterfeit money.
However, he highlighted that because his brother and King had pleaded guilty, they were handed discounted sentences of 12 and 18 months respectively, King receiving a longer sentence because he also had a previous conviction of possessing counterfeit money.
As a result he passed a sentence of 18 months on Lawrence, and ordered him to pay the victim impact surcharge of £156. In addition Mr Recorder Kenefick ordered the counterfeit money be forfeited and destroyed.
Want our best stories with fewer ads and alerts when the biggest news stories drop? Download our app on iPhone or Android
