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Police: Public help was key to catching Paul Smith's killers
THE public have been praised for the part they played in catching the killers of Rugby man Paul Smith.
Last week 18-year-old Matthew Gordon Dempsey Armstrong from Deepmore Road, Rugby was found guilty of the murder and robbery of Paul Smith, 54.
A 14-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of the manslaughter and robbery by jurors at Stafford Crown Court.
Speaking after the trial, Detective Superintendent Adrian McGee: "My first thoughts are with Paul Smith's family who I hope can take some comfort from the conviction of Matthew Armstrong and the 14 year old youth today. The family have supported the police investigation from the first moment and have acted with dignity and respect throughout.
"The help that the police received from individuals, local businesses and partner agencies from within the local community of Rugby played a huge part in the investigation
"We received numerous calls from the public providing suggestions to the identify of the youths in the images released to the media.
"As well as this a local boy contacted the police following the release of the image of one of the offenders on the BMX bike identifying that it was his bike on the still and that the bike had been stolen from him a few days earlier in Rugby. Help such as this was invaluable to the enquiry.
"I really cannot thank the people of Rugby enough for the assistance that they provided. They proved in this case that they will not tolerate the behaviour exhibited by Armstrong and this youth and will support Warwickshire Police in bringing them to justice"
"Technology has also played a key part in our case. Not only in the use of the latest Blue Tooth technology which was used to ensure as many witnesses came forward as possible, but also CCTV.
"The strength and importance of the partnership between Warwickshire Police and Rugby BID has been highlighted once again during this investigation.
"It is without doubt that if CCTV had not been working in Rugby Town Centre and local business premises then we would have had a much tougher task in catching these criminals and piecing together exactly what happened on the night.
"We were able to gather significant evidence from the huge amounts of footage from the cameras around the town centre and without this the outcome could have been very different.
"I would also like to thank the media who helped at every step of the way, with the publication of the images that we recovered to assist in progressing the investigation.
"It should be noted that in the year to March 2009, Warwickshire Police achieved the biggest reduction in violence of all forces in England and Wales, with a reduction of 18.5 per cent.
"This means that in the last 16 months a total of 904 fewer people have been injured as a result of violence.
"It will continue to be our intention to target those who cause harm in our communities."
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Weather for Rugby
Friday 25 May 2012
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Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
