Knife-wielding Gosport menace, 37, jailed for latest burglaries as police celebrate result

A NOTORIOUS Gosport menace caught brandishing a knife has been jailed for his latest burglaries.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Joshua Clark, 37, was dumped behind bars for two years after being caught with a blade by police on Victoria Street on May 7 - an offence he denied.

Read More
Police arrest man, 30, after executing drugs warrants for ongoing drugs investig...

Clark, who was jailed for three years in 2017 after he raided The Trafalgar pub, admitted two burglaries on October 8 last year.

Jailed: Joshua Clark. Pic Hants policeJailed: Joshua Clark. Pic Hants police
Jailed: Joshua Clark. Pic Hants police
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

On that occasion Clark broke into the Hardway Sailing Club and The Jolly Roger pub on Priory Road along with 54-year-old David Wood and 51-year-old Andrew Mellem.

Clark, of no fixed address, denied possessing a knife but was found guilty following a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court.

He was jailed on Friday for that offence and the two burglary offences.

Wood, of Westfield Road in Gosport, admitted both burglaries at a previous hearing - as did Mellem, of Beauchamp Avenue.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The pair were both sentenced last month to 12-month community orders, and ordered to pay £250 compensation, £85 costs and a £100 fine.

Wood was ordered to complete 20 rehabilitation days while Mellem must complete 30 days.

Following Clark’s sentencing, police staff investigator Sophie Close said: ‘We take a very robust stance to knife crime, which is more often than not linked to serious violence.

‘Those who carry knives can expect to face serious consequences, and that is evidenced by the jail term that Clark now faces as a result of his actions.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Subscribe here for unlimited access to all our coverage, including Pompey, for just 26p a day.