Two jailed for offences committed during Bristol disorder

Twenty one people have now been sentenced in connection with the violent disorder in Bristol last month.

James Maine and Shane Dennis were jailed at Bristol Crown Court today (Tuesday 17 September).

Maine, of Kingswood, received a 28-month jail sentence after throwing missiles at police and punching a member of the public.

Judge Peter Blair said the 44-year-old’s involvement was ‘persistent’ and described him as ‘one of the central individuals’ carrying our the violent disorder.

CCTV obtained during the police investigation shows Maine running at members of the public and throwing a punch.

Dennis, of Knowle, was jailed for four weeks after pleading guilty to a racially-aggravated public order offence after shouting racist remarks in Castle Park that same day.

Judge Blair accepted the 30-year-old was not involved in the violence, but said Dennis’ actions were provocative and helped to fuel the disorder.

This morning a 25-year-old man from the Shirehampton area of Bristol was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder. He is currently in police custody.

Thirty-seven of the 51 people arrested have been charged so far.

Detective Chief Inspector Tom Herbert said: “There was no excuse for violence that day. The scenes played out in Bristol on 3 August were criminal and disgraceful, and now more than 20 people have been sentenced for what they did on that day.

“Detectives are continuing to investigate, and work with the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts to ensure all those responsible for such reprehensible scenes are brought to justice.”

Our investigation remains ongoing and we continue to ask the public for help identifying a number of people we’d like to speak to.

Images of the people we wish to identify remain on our online gallery and we’d ask anyone who recognises any of them to contact us via our dedicated online form.