Getaway Driver Is Jailed For The Murder Of Two Best Friends

A 45-year-old man has been jailed for a minimum of 38 years for the murders of two best friends during a machete attack sparked by a case of mistaken identity.

Last Monday, Antony Snook, 18-year-old Riley Tolliver, and three minors, ages 15 and 17, were found guilty of killing 15-year-old Mason Rist and 16-year-old Max Dixon.

Snook, the getaway driver, was part of the senseless gang that helped chase down and murder Max and Mason seconds after they had popped out to buy pizza in the Bristol suburb of Knowle West on January 27.

After leaving Mason’s home on Ilminster Avenue at 11:13 p.m., the young boys, who had been friends since nursery school, were brutally pursued and slain a short while later.

Before the killers burned their clothes to hide their identities, Snook drove away in his Audi Q2, while Max and Mason perished in the hospital after suffering fatal stab wounds.

Passing sentence at Bristol Crown Court today, Mrs Justice May told Snook his actions were ‘weak and cowardly’ as she jailed him to life behind bars with a minimum of 38 years.

As part of a revenge mission, Snook had driven Tolliver and the three boys—who cannot be identified for legal reasons—to and from Knowle West.

Max and Mason had been mistakenly identified as being responsible for bricks being tossed at a house in the rival Hartcliffe district earlier that night.

About an hour after that aggression, Snook departed the property with two of the lads and picked up the other two in a nearby street before heading to Knowle West.

Before the attack, he spent at least twelve minutes driving his Audi Q2 around Knowle West.

Snook drove down Ilminster Avenue when they noticed Mason and Max in the street as they went for a pizza – mistakenly thinking they had spotted those responsible for the aggression.

The three youths with machetes and Tolliver, who were carrying a baseball bat, sprang from the car and began chasing the two youngsters.

Max and Mason are seen going to different sides of the street, each pursued by two people from the car.

Tolliver and the 15-year-old boy attacked Mason while the 16-year-old boy and 17-year-old boy pursued Max.

The 17-year-old boy also struck Mason, who was lying injured on the ground, as he headed back to the Audi after attacking Max.

A CCTV camera on Mason’s nearby house captured how the attack lasted just 33 seconds from the car pulling up to the teenagers getting back in and fleeing.

Both Mason and Max passed away in the hospital early on January 28 after suffering deadly stab wounds.

Snook, a one-legged landscape gardener, drove the teenagers from the scene and dropped them off in Knowle West.

In a backyard, a fire was started, and objects connected to the assault were disposed of.

After a six-week trial, Snook, of Bristol’s Dowling Road, was found guilty on two charges of murder by the jury.

The fact that the driver will serve a lengthy jail sentence is a positive thing, but it doesn’t make the dread these kind lads must have had in their last moments any less real.

None of the perpetrators should experience freedom again.

Five small men thought they could make themselves big by committing a criminal act, and I’ve never understood why the identity of young people convicted of crimes like these is not disclosed. Whatever their age if they perpetrate crimes and carry knives and baseball bats around, they should be named and shamed.

Sadly, violent crimes are out of control in the UK and the powers that be don’t appear to be able to do much about it.

Max and Mason were just strolling along to get a pizza, minding their own business – just two besties chitchatting on their way there. This is heartbreaking and I feel deeply for their family and friends. I am especially pleased there was a long sentence for the people who perpetrated the crime because knife crime of any type must be given the most brutal punishment, even if you choose to carry one.