A British Court has sentenced 45-year-old man, Antony Snook, to life imprisonment for his role in the murder of two friends in Knowle West, Bristol.
Snook was found guilty of having aided the four teenagers who perpetrated the act after driving them to and from the scene, to ease the operation and shield their identity from law enforcement agents.
As gathered, Snook drove 18-year-old Riley Tolliver, including three other boys aged 17, 16, and 15, on a revenge mission, during which they mistakenly identified the two boys as those responsible for throwing bricks at a house in Hartcliffe earlier that evening.
Delivering the judgment on Tuesday, Justice May criticized Snook for his failure to intervene, stating that he had multiple opportunities to stop the attack but chose not to act.
“You were the only adult. You were so weak and cowardly to lend yourself to the revenge scheme of others,” she said.
The judge added that it was “impossible to fathom” why Snook had agreed to drive the teenagers to the area.
“You would have experienced the atmosphere in that car. Felt the bloodlust. Mason and Max, tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time,” she said.
During his trial, Snook admitted to being the driver that night but denied two counts of murder, claiming he didn’t know the teenagers were armed and was unaware of their violent intentions.
However, the jury approved the prosecution case which portrayed the events as a joint enterprise, thereby finding Snook guilty by a 10-2 majority decision after four days of deliberation.
On January 27, CCTV footage captured the assailants, armed with machetes and a baseball bat, attacking the boys within seconds of exiting Snook’s car, while he remained in the vehicle, parked nearby with the lights off.
In the video, Snook was seen to have driven the teenagers away from the scene, leaving Mason and Max, both 15 and 16, who later died shortly after being admitted to a hospital.
According to the ruling judge, although Snook never left his car, he was as guilty as the teenage murderers because of his active role in the crime.
“Without him driving them to and from Knowle West, the murders would never have happened,” she said.
Along with Snook, the perpetrators of the murder, Riley Tolliver (18) and three teenage boys aged 17, 16, and 15, were also found guilty of murder and will be sentenced on December 16.
