Crossbow man given estate ban - Devon

From the Exeter Express and Echo

CROSSBOW menace Guzzy Lee has been handed a full Asbo banning him from a large part of an Exeter business park.

Traveller Lee, 26, was issued with the order by a court back in February after a reign of mayhem and terror on the Sowton Industrial Estate.

But it has only now come into force after officers were able to track him down and were able to serve him the paperwork.

Police said they hope this will mean Lee, who has since left the city, will never come back to Exeter.

The order was granted after a long history of anti-social behaviour by him since May 2009 mainly within the Travellers' site but his actions also affected neighbouring businesses.

In applying for it police said he was responsible for being abusive and threatening towards other residents on the site as well as deliberately starting several fires.

He also owned and used an air rifle and a crossbow leading to several properties on the industrial estate being damaged along with customer's motor vehicles.

He was responsible for damaging properties within the site, driving motor vehicles in an inappropriate manner with total disregard for the safety of other residents and being abusive to police when they were called to the site.

Lee was evicted from the site by Devon County Council but still continued to attend and behave in an anti-social manner. An interim Asbo was previously in place and since it was granted the crime rate has "significantly" dropped at the site, according to the police.

Neighbourhood beat manager PC Sharon Tooze said: "Lee has been a thorough nuisance to the residents and local businesses of the Sowton Industrial Estate.

"The only condition on the Asbo is that Lee is not to enter an exclusion zone on Sowton Industrial Estate.

"This order is now in place indefinitely."

Lee's exclusion zone is an area of Sowton bounded by the M5 on its eastern side, Moto Services at the South, Kestrel Way, Bittern Road on the West and the A3015 in the North.

PC Tooze added: "I am extremely pleased with the outcome of the court hearing and have worked closely with Devon County Council, businesses and residents who were all affected by Lee's behaviour, to ensure a positive outcome.

"I am hoping that this result will highlight our continuing commitment to residents and business premises alike.

"The crime rate has depleted significantly since he has not been at the site after we got the interim Asbo in August last year.

"He did not turn up to court for the full Asbo hearing so we have just been able to track him down to serve him with the papers. He is no longer living locally and hopefully this will stop him from ever coming back."