Men sentenced to prison for knife offence and witness intimidation – Newbury

Following an investigation by Thames Valley Police, two men have been sentenced to prison for knife offences and witness intimidation in Newbury.

Jake Bozarth, aged 18, of Two Saints, Newbury, pleaded guilty to intimidating a witness and threatening a person with a blade/sharply pointed article in a public place, following a hearing at Reading Crown Court on Monday (18/3).

Jake Blandford, aged 19, of Dickens Walk, Newbury, pleaded guilty to one count of intimidating a witness at the same hearing.

On 11 September 2023 at around 2.05pm, police were called to Dickens Walk on the Nightingales Estate in the town in response to a report that a man had been threatened with a knife.

The victim, a man aged in his twenties, was in fact the victim of serious violence in an earlier incident in May 2023 and was supporting a police investigation.

It transpired that the attack was witness intimidation by Bozarth and Blandford.

Bozarth and Blandford were arrested on 14 September 2023 and were charged the following day.

Returning to Reading Crown Court on Wednesday (15/5), Bozarth was sentenced to two years and fourth months in prison and Blandford was given ten months in prison.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Sean Morris said: “We do not tolerate knife crime in the Thames Valley.

“I hope that this conviction and sentence will help to reassure the public and local community that we will tackle all forms of this type of offence and we will support victims and witnesses by dealing robustly with such intimidation offences as these.”

KB

Jake Bozarth

Jake Blandford