Community given a break after brothers jailed
Two brothers have been jailed following an incident. Billy Watson, 20, of Tile Kiln Lane, Enfield was sentenced to 15 months in prison for public nuisance, affray and two counts of criminal damage. Charlie Watson 18 of Tile Kiln Lane, Enfield, was also sentenced to 15 months in prison, for public nuisance, affray and two counts of criminal damage. Both had pleaded guilty to the offences at Blackfriars Crown Court on Thursday, 2 May, and were sentenced today at the same court. The court heard how on Tuesday, 26 March, at around 5pm, patrolling officers noticed two men acting suspiciously near a motorbike in a car park off Kingsgate Road, NW6. The officers stopped their car to speak to the men, but both ran off climbing over garden fences in an attempt to escape. The men then climbed, via scaffolding, onto the roofs of a nearby terrace houses. Additionally members of the public reported to officers that the men were believed to be in possession of a firearm. The men refused to come down from the roof and threw tiles and objects from the roof towards the officers on the ground, causing damage to surrounding properties. Because of the reports of a firearm, some local residents had be to evacuated to ensure their safety and a large cordon was put in place. Both men remained on the roof until 12.40am on Wednesday, 27 March, when they climbed down and were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, public nuisance and affray. The men, who were identified at Billy and Charlie Watson, were charged later that same day with public nuisance, affray and two counts of criminal damage. They were remanded in custody by Highbury Corner Magistrates to appear at Blackfriars Crown Court. Subsequent enquires found the bike was not reported stolen and no firearm was located following a search of the area. Detective Constable Dean Puzey of Central North Command Unit said; “The actions of both men caused a huge disturbance to the local community. A number of local residences were displaced for several hours. The incident required the attended of many local officers, specialist police units and resources from the London Ambulance Service. This wastefully diverted these resources away from other incidents. Owing to the nature of the incident, the attendance of the National Police Air Service (NPAS) was necessary, but I am aware the noise disturbed many people. Both these men broke tiles off the roofs and threw them at officers, endangering their safety and causing damage to many properties. I hoped the prosecution will reassure the local community that those cause such wanton damage and disruption will face the consequence of their actions.” Charlie Watson was also sentenced to six months in prison, to run consecutively to the above sentence, for possession of an offensive weapon in an unrelated incident.
