Gunmen face jail after threatening police officers with weapon after fight
Two men who threatened police with a gun are facing jail time. Officers were called to reports of disorder in Station Road, Marston Green, where weapons were reportedly brandished just after midnight on February 19.
Police approached a suspicious looking black Mercedes car which Andrew Beckett and Anthony Briscoe had been travelling in with the handgun shortly after they're understood to have been involved in disorder.
The Mercedes was parked in the middle of the road on The Radleys with no lights on. A call about the initial trouble had referred to a vehicle, matching its description, and when two officers approached the car they found Beckett and Briscoe inside.
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Briscoe got out the vehicle but then encouraged Beckett to start the engine. Beckett then pulled out a handgun and threatened our cops who rightly retreated and the car made off.
They were able to quickly alert colleagues and the vehicle was swiftly traced in Cockshut Hill around a mile-and-a-half away. It had been abandoned but following a search of the area we recovered a handgun - which was later confirmed as being a viable firearm - in a bush and also ammunition.
Following a quicktime review of CCTV - alongside other enquiries - police established Beckett and Briscoe as the pair from the Mercedes. Briscoe was arrested from his home the following day while we stopped a van carrying Beckett two days later.
Beckett, aged 37 of The Radleys, Smiths Wood, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and possession of ammunition without a certificate.
Briscoe, 37, of Shirestone Road, Birmingham, was convicted of possession of a prohibited weapon, and possession of ammunition without a certificate following a trial which concluded at Birmingham Crown Court last Thursday (19 September). He was found not guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
They will be sentenced at a later date. DC Baron Briscoe, who led the investigation, said: "This was a viable firearm which could have caused serious or even deadly harm.
"This was one of the most terrifying moments these officers will likely ever face, but they kept calm in an extremely distressing scenario.
"I fully believe that serious harm could’ve been caused to members of the public on that evening. This was prevented by the diligent actions of the officers stopping the vehicle.”