DJ throws police van keys into a bush during an illegal rave

A DJ stole and threw into a bush the keys of a police van after police raided an illegal rave.

On Friday, the DJ, Thomas Cope, pleaded guilty to one count of theft at Salisbury Magistrates Court.

Police were called to a potential illegal rave on June 10 in Enford, Wiltshire, after reports that 30 people had gathered.

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According to the Salisbury Journal, prosecutor Tara Onley told the court that the group of ravers ignored the police request to leave the site resulting in the use of “legal dispersion powers”.

The 36-year-old DJ, who had reportedly had “too much to drink”, had brought his own equipment and was “angry” that police were dismantling his set-up.

In retaliation, Cope took the keys out of the police van and threw them into a nearby bush.

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Reports claim that he “immediately regretted the stupid, reckless and thoughtless act", so went into the area he threw the keys to find them however was arrested before he could retrieve them.

His defending lawyer, Sarah Brown, said Cope returned to the area where the keys were lost and spent four hours searching for them with a metal detector.

After his arrest, a dog unit was deployed to find the missing keys yet they were not found resulting in police purchasing a replacement. Cope was ordered by Salisbury Magistrates to pay £100 compensation to Wiltshire Constabulary.

[Via: Salisbury Journal]

Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Multimedia Editor, follow her on Twitter