A trio from Bristol was caught with more than £1,000 in counterfeit currency during an illegal journey during the first coronavirus lockdown. Michael Lawrence, aged 22, was caught by police officers in Plymouth with his brother and a friend.
Michael claimed that they had travelled from Bristol to the south coast allegedly for a party and told a jury that he knew nothing about the counterfeit currency discovered in the vehicle. However, the trio failed to get their stories right with one of them saying that they were just travelling to the shop.
Plymouth Crown Court heard that the police became suspicious as they did not believe they were from the same household. This was because in April 2020, when the incident took place, nobody from outside the same household was allowed to mix and unnecessary journeys were banned.
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Despite the two-hour journey from Bristol to Plymouth, the three men failed to establish the same storyline should they be caught and were caught red-handed when trying to persuade the jury. Michael's brother Martin, then aged 23, and 24-year-old Daniel King, both pleaded guilty to possession of counterfeit currency on April 23, 2020.
Lawrence, the driver that day, was jailed for 12 months and King for 18 months at the same court in September last year. They had 24 fake £50 notes in the car and another two counterfeit notes were found on Michael Lawrence reports Plymouth Live.
Michael Lawrence, who is also behind bars, denied the same count but was convicted after a trial. A jury took only 40 minutes today to find him guilty of possession of counterfeit currency.
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Their deliberations were abandoned on Friday because several jurors could not reach court due to Storm Eustice. Michael Lawrence has now been remanded back into custody for sentencing on March 9 after a probation report is prepared. Garth Richardson, for Lawrence, said: "The sentence is inevitable, it just will go to the length of that sentence."
Police who stopped the Vauxhall Adam in Embankment Lane 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.
Michael Lawrence claimed in the trial that his brother and their friend King 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 a couple of fake £50 notes from his pocket. A 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 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.
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