A young woman from Brislington has been found guilty of riot after the Kill the Bill protest in Bristol last year.
Charly Pitman, 24, appeared in Bristol Crown Court on Thursday, April 28 following a three-day trial. Today she became the third person to be found guilty of riot, bringing the total number of people held responsible for offences committed on March 21 last year to 18.
Jurors took just over an hour to convict her of the offence. Ten other people have previously admitted riot while five others have either been convicted of or admitted other offences committed after violence erupted outside Bridewell Police Station last year.
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Pitman has been released on bail and is due back at Bristol Crown Court on July 7 where she will be sentenced. As it stands, 15 people jailed in connection with the riot have been jailed for a total of 57 years and 11 months.
Prosecutors told jurors how Pitman positioned herself at the front of the crowd challenging police officers as they attempted to separate them from the neighbourhood police station. The jury was presented with footage of her acting aggressively towards the officers, striking their shields and helmets, and were told her actions caused them and others to fear for their safety.
Detective Superintendent James Riccio said: “Charly Pitman may not have used the highest levels of violence but she took up a prominent role at the front of the crowd and her actions undoubtedly escalated tensions and encouraged others to attack police officers.
“The fact the jury took little more than an hour to convict her highlights how clear her offending was. She denied acting together with others with a common purpose but the jury evidently had no doubt she was guilty of riot.”
Pitman is not the only defendant to be trialled this month in connection to the Kill the Bill Riots in Bristol. Matthew O'Neill, 30, appeared at Bristol Crown Court on April 11 and pleaded guilty to riot and arson, by damaging a police van.
O'Neill is due to be sentenced on May 23 while a 43-year-old woman has also been given a hospital order.
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