Two men who helped cover up a gang’s double murder of two innocent teenagers during a revenge attack have each been jailed for more than five years.
Bailey Westcott, 23, and Jamie Ogbourne, 27, assisted two of the killers of Max Dixon, 16, and Mason Rist, 15, who were stabbed to death by a gang of armed teenagers.
Antony Snook, 45, had driven Riley Tolliver, 18, and boys aged 15, 16 and 17 to and from the scene of the murders in Knowle West, Bristol on January 27 this year.
In my view it would be hard to find a more serious example of assisting an offender than this
Max and Mason had been wrongly identified as being the masked youths who had thrown bricks at a house in the rival Hartcliffe area earlier that evening.
Bristol Crown Court heard how Westcott had arrived at the property within half an hour of the attack.
Just 20 minutes after that Snook left with two of the boys and picked up the other two nearby before heading to Knowle West.
Ogbourne, together with his partner and his mother arrived at the property two minutes after Snook and the others left, the court heard.
The five were all convicted of murder last month following a trial.
Snook, a landscape gardener, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 38 years, while the others will be sentenced on Thursday.
Westcott, of Whitchurch Lane, Whitchurch, and Ogbourne, of Bishport Avenue, Hartcliffe, both Bristol, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of assisting an offender.
Ray Tully KC, prosecuting, told the court that after the murders, Snook and two of his co-accused returned to the property in Hartcliffe where Westcott and Ogbourne were waiting.
Westcott lit a fire in the back garden and items linked to the attack, including a coat, were disposed of by them.
Ogbourne arranged taxis to take the two teenagers to his flat and later provided them with a change of clothing, cannabis, a “substantial amount of money” and a “burner” phone.
Mr Tully said a total of eight weapons were later seized from the Hartcliffe property and a “question left unanswered by all of the evidence” was whether all of the knives used in the murders had originated from there.
“What we do know was that there was something on an armoury of weapons with eight separate weapons found at the house, including two used in the murders,” he said.
“Antony Snook returned from Swindon, not by accident we say, and departed five minutes later, we say not by accident.
“Within two minutes of them arriving back Bailey Westcott is in the back garden carrying items of clothing.
“That would suggest clearly a presence of mind when an initial clean-up operation is going on when it must have been apparent – with those two youngsters returning and carrying those weapons – that something very serious must have happened.”
Mr Tully said it was likely that clothing would have been bloodstained or had Max and Mason’s DNA on it.
The court heard, Wescott messaged one of the teenage killers, telling them: “Don’t say you were there. Then just go on like you don’t know what’s happening.”
The teenager replied: “I’ll just say I ain’t splashed no little kid.”
Kannan Siva, defending Westcott, said: “Although he is not charged or accused of conspiracy offences or causing the incident, he of course bears some responsibility.
“It would be very plain and obvious that very serious violent offences had been committed with young boys coming back with weapons and discovery of the seriousness and gravity would increase with time.”
John Stokes, representing Ogbourne, said his client was “horrified and appalled” at the deaths of Max and Mason.
“He wishes to express through me his remorse for his involvement in this case,” he said.
“He has genuinely expressed his regret and remorse and has accepted responsibility and not proceeded to trial with the extra distress that causes the families of the deceased.”
Jailing them both for five years and three months, Mrs Justice May said there was no evidence of what was said in that house prior to the murders.
“Bailey Westcott, you knew probably better than anyone what set that attack on Max and Mason in train,” she said.
“Within minutes of the attack on that house you were sending messages that the attack was carried out by ‘Westers’ and you went straight round to that house.
“I am sure that you were well aware this was a revenge trip to Knowle West. You sent messages and you had influence over boys much younger than you.
“What did you do to stop it? Nothing.”
She added: “In my view it would be hard to find a more serious example of assisting an offender than this.”
During the trial, the jury was told Snook’s Audi Q2 mobility car was driven around Knowle West for at least 12 minutes before the attack.
The best friends had left Mason’s home on Ilminster Avenue and were going for a pizza when they were spotted by the defendants, who wrongly believed they were responsible for the earlier attack.
Tolliver, who had a baseball bat, and the three teenagers armed with machetes, jumped out of the car and chased after the two boys.
Max and Mason are seen going to different sides of the street, each pursued by two people from the vehicle.
Tolliver and the 15-year-old boy attacked Mason while the 16-year-old boy and 17-year-old boy chased Max.
The 17-year-old boy also struck Mason, who was lying injured on the ground, as he headed back to the Audi after attacking Max.
A CCTV camera on Mason’s nearby house captured how the attack lasted just 33 seconds, from the car pulling up to the teenagers getting back in and leaving.
Max and Mason sustained fatal stab injuries and both died in hospital in the early hours of January 28.
Detective Superintendent Gary Haskins, who led the investigation, said: “Ogbourne and Wescott, two adults, came to the aid of the four teenage defendants and attempted to cover the murderers’ tracks by cleaning the weapons and disposing of clothes.
“They knew what they were doing and the implications of their actions – they showed no regard for the lives lost by attempting to help the defendants get away with their crimes.
“I hope their sentence shows the severity of what they did and why we will make every effort to hunt out anyone who aids and abets crime to take place.”
