A TEENAGER who took a loaded gun to Notting Hill Carnival was this week sentenced to five years’ detention at a Young Offender Institution.
Owen Neves, 18, of Eye Road, Peterborough, pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to obstructing a constable in execution of his duty, possessing a prohibited weapon and possessing ammunition for a firearm without a certificate.
Police stopped Neves at the junction of Harrow Road and Ladbroke Grove on Monday August 28, the last day of the carnival.
The officer said he noticed he seemed tense and nervous and looked as if he was going to run off. As the officer started to place him in handcuffs, Neves began to struggle and another officer assisting suffered cuts and scratches to his face.
After being handcuffed, Neves was rolled onto his side and underneath where he had been laying a white sock was found which contained a revolver loaded with five rounds of ammunition.
The weapon, a blank firing revolver that had been converted to fire live ammunition, had a hollow point bullet in at least one of its five cartridges.
Commander Dave Musker, who led the Met Police’s operation for this year’s carnival, praised the officers in question, and hopes the sentence will prevent further incidents.
He said: “This man was intent on taking a lethal weapon to Notting Hill Carnival but was stopped by the vigilant actions of officers.
“The sentence handed to Neves should act as a deterrent to anyone else considering carrying an illegal firearm on the streets of London.”
Crime at the 2017 carnival had been down from the previous year after a Met crackdown in the preceding days, with 313 arrests compared to 454 in 2016.
Fifty arrests were made on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon, including knives, batons and a hammer, while 28 police officers were injured on duty at the two-day festival.
There was controversy over the Met Police tactics, with the crackdown leading to 656 further arrests in the three weeks leading up to the event.
