CHIEF CONSTABLE’S OPERATIONAL REPORT TO THE CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF DEVON AND CORNWALL POLICE AUTHORITY 18 July 2003 1 1. MAJOR INCIDENTS AND POLICING DIARY Murder/attempted murder 1.1 Murder/suicide – Feock in Cornwall The Metropolitan police contacted this Force with details of the murder of Lynn Grant at her home address in London SE1 on 21 May. A request was made to find the deceased woman’s estranged husband Peter Grant, who was believed to be living at the former family home at Blackberry Farm, Feock in Cornwall. When officers went into the grounds they discovered Mr Grant hanging from the rafters of a barn. Enquiries are continuing in liaison with the Metropolitan police. 1.2 Attempted murder - Lostwithiel A 31-year-old man was assaulted with a one-foot-long spanner and run over by a car following a domestic argument on 21 May. A man was arrested and later charged with attempted murder. 1.3 Murder - Torquay A 39-year-old Torquay man died as a result of his injuries following a fight on 26 May in the Ellacombe area of the town, following what appears to have been a dispute between neighbours over noise. A 24-year-old local man has been arrested and charged with murder. He is currently on remand awaiting a trial date. 1.4 Attempted murder - Newquay Officers were called to Seymour Avenue, Newquay, following a report of a stabbing and street disorder on 4 June. Officers found a local man with a single stab wound to the chest. He was taken to Treliske Hospital where his injuries are described as not life threatening. As a result of enquiries a female was charged with wounding. 1.5 Murder – Camborne On 26 June 2003, ambulance control reported they were attending the report of children having found their mother hanging at their home. Her estranged husband has subsequently been charged with murder and has been remanded in custody awaiting a trial. Suspicious death 1.6 Drugs death - Plymouth Officers were called to Derriford Hospital on 1 June in response to a report that a man had died after consuming ecstacy. Two local men were arrested at the hospital and have since been bailed pending further enquiries. 2 1.7 Suspicious Death - Newquay Police are investigating the death of a 27-year-old woman whose body was recovered from rocks in Newquay on 1 June. A 34-year-old man was arrested and released on police bail pending further enquiries. Violence 1.8 Stabbing - Exeter A man was walking down Sydney Road, Exeter, on 16 May, when he entered into a brief conversation with another man. The man pushed the victim and stabbed him in the chest area before walking off towards Marsh Barton. The victim was treated at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and his injuries are not life threatening. Enquiries are continuing with Exeter CID to locate the offender. 1.9 Attempted rape - Seaton A woman was forced into the female public toilets on the Esplanade, Seaton, sexually assaulted and threatened with what she believed to be a handgun on 19 May. Two local men have been arrested and bailed pending the result of forensic and other enquiries. 1.10 Serious assault - St Austell A woman was making her way home through Poltair Park, St Austell, on 1 June, when she was assaulted by an unknown man. The attacker threatened her with what may have been a knife and demanded sex. The victim was involved in a struggle with her assailant who then made off. During the assault she received some minor scratch type marks to her left arm and abdomen. Enquiries continue to locate the offender. 1.11 Female threatened with knife - Callington A woman had stopped her vehicle at the traffic lights opposite Callington police station on 3 June when a man armed with a knife tried to open the door of her vehicle. The vehicle’s doors were locked and the man was unable to gain entry, allowing her to drive away. Officers located the suspect to a caravan, where the man threatened the officers with a knife and a hammer. They managed to arrest him after using CS spray to subdue him. He was later charged with Public Order - Affray and remanded to HMP Exeter. 3 1.12 Forced entry to address - Plymouth Officers were called to an address in the North Prospect area of Plymouth following a report of a woman suffering from mental health issues on 3 June. The woman threatened to harm herself with kitchen knives and stab the next person to enter the house. Local PSU trained officers forced entry to the house and arrested the woman before extinguishing a fire. The woman was seen by mental health practitioners and released without charge. 1.13 Serious assault - Paignton A young person was seriously assaulted at Clennon sports field in Paignton on 5 June. The incident involved two white and two black youths. One youth sustained serious head injuries. The other two youths were located and arrested later that evening. Both were interviewed and bailed pending further enquiries. Assault on police officer 1.14 Assault on officer - Exeter An inspector was assaulted at his home near Exeter and sustained minor injuries on 21 May. The offender, a 41-year-old local man, was believed to have been under the influence of drugs at the time of the assault. He also caused damage to the officer’s vehicle. He was arrested and subsequently charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and criminal damage to a vehicle. 1.15 Assault on police officer using a car - Bodmin Two officers attempted to speak to the female driver of a stationary Vauxhall Cavalier in Bodmin on 28 May. The woman started to drive away from the scene, trapping one of the officer’s feet. The officer was treated by an ambulance crew and diagnosed as having strained ankle ligaments. He reported unfit for duty and as a result was sick for 15 days. The driver of the vehicle voluntarily attended Bodmin Police Station and was interviewed. Enquiries are continuing to locate a male passenger who is wanted on warrant. 1.16 Officers injured on duty - Paignton Two officers were called to a report of a disturbance in Paignton on 1 June. On arrival one man was arrested for public order offences. A second man then assaulted one of the arresting officers and was himself arrested. Both men violently resisted arrest and further police assistance was called to the scene. They were restrained and taken to Torquay police station. Both offenders have been charged with assault. 4 Firearms 1.17 Firearms incident - Plymouth Two people were reported trapped in a Plymouth flat on 13 May. A further report was received that a man had been seen inside the flat with a firearm and was making threats. He managed to escape the building with the weapon and made off into a nearby park, where he was challenged arrested and later charged with arson with intent to endanger life and a firearms offence. 1.18 Deployment of armed officers - Newquay Officers received a report of a wounding at a shop in St Columb Minor, Newquay, on 2 June. Armed officers were deployed in support of unarmed colleagues and one man was arrested at the scene and another at a house nearby. One man has been charged with two counts of serious assault, one relating to a separate incident. The second man has been charged with offences of threats to kill and damage relating to other local matters. 1.19 Firearms Incident – Beaford, near Winkleigh Police received a report that a man had made threats to shoot his estranged wife and her boyfriend on 3 June. Enquiries resulted in the deployment of armed officers to an address in Beaford near Winkleigh, where a 37-year-old man was located. Four firearms were temporarily surrendered and some licensing offences disclosed. No arrest was necessary but enquiries into the allegation and the licensing matters are continuing. Robbery 1.20 Robbery - Exeter A robbery took place at a shop in Sidwell Street, Exeter, on 16 May. Following a scuffle with staff, a man stole property from the store including cash from the till. The offender made off but a member of the public pursued him on foot and he was detained by police. A 28-year-old man has been charged with the robbery. Arson 1.21 Arson – Dawlish Warren A suspicious fire broke out at a commercial premises in Dawlish Warren on 25 May. The nature of the fire meant that 13 DFRS engines attended and it took all 13 pumps six hours to get the fire under control. Serious damage has been caused as a result, which is estimated to be approximately £1.5 million pounds. 5 1.22 Arson - Tiverton Officers on patrol saw smoke coming from a rear garden of a home in Tiverton on 5 June. A large timber shed was on fire in the rear garden of an elderly resident’s bungalow. A number of people were evacuated while the fire service brought the blaze under control. No one was injured but the fire caused extensive damage. The fire is being treated as suspicious. Road Traffic Collisions 1.23 Serious RTC - Plymouth An 18-year-old man appeared to lose control of the red Peugeot 205 he was driving when entering Charles Street from Drake Circus roundabout on 15 May and collided with a lamppost. He was treated at Derriford Hospital for a fracture to his right femur. His condition was described as stable.