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Authors: Bernard O'Mahoney
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Jack-the-Lad Essex Boy, didn’t quite command the same level of respect on the estate as he had enjoyed in sleepy Leigh-on-Sea.
His wafer-thin hopes of starting a new trouble-free life also failed him. Travelling home through the Rotherhithe tunnel one evening, with his brother Darren at the wheel, Alvin’s car was stopped by police, who suspected that it might have been stolen. When the officers searched the vehicle, they found a stun gun in Alvin’s sports bag. When asked what he was doing in possession of a prohibited weapon, Alvin said that it was not for his personal use and that he had merely purchased it for his partner, Barbara, because they lived in the Bronx.
With the very real possibility of a return to prison hanging over his head, Alvin abandoned his quest for salvation and returned to Essex. When Alvin appeared in court, he was given a conditional discharge and the weapon was confiscated. The news that welcomed Alvin upon his return to Essex did not please him. Malcolm, the man he idolised, was having an affair with his ex-girlfriend, Clair.
Those who knew Alvin at that time say that he tried to put on a brave face and laugh about it, but deep down he was a cauldron of boiling anger and jealousy.
By all accounts, Barbara is a thoroughly decent woman, who did all she could to make things work with him. Unfortunately, her hopes for happiness were dashed by Alvin’s overwhelming desire to become a ‘somebody’. The life he chose to lead brought the same sort of trouble to her door as Clair had endured. Trouble had also arrived at Malcolm’s door when his long-suffering wife, Bernadette, found out about his extra-marital affair with Clair and she kicked him out of her home. Due to circumstance rather than choice, Malcolm moved into a flat and was soon joined by his mistress. When Alvin learned that Malcolm and Clair had become an item, he resigned himself to the fact that he had lost his teenage sweetheart and did his sorry best to make his relationship with Barbara work.
His habitual offending, however, continued to be a constant source of disagreement between the couple. Barbara realised that it would only be a matter of time before Alvin was imprisoned, but, despite her protests, he didn’t seem to care.
Aged 20, Alvin was convicted of burglary, having robbed a clothes shop, and aged 24, he was charged with burglary at an MOT station. Like Barbara, the judge sentencing him realised that the threat of prison held no fear for Alvin and so he decided that a reminder of what life inside was like might help him to see the error of his ways. Alvin was sentenced to a term of nine months’ imprisonment.
Prison, as has been proved time and time again, is looked upon as an occupational hazard rather than a deterrent to young men like Alvin. As soon as he was released, he was back committing crime with his mentor Malcolm Walsh.
Like Alvin, Ricky Percival had been forging a contrasting but equally criminal lifestyle for himself. He had tried to follow in his brother’s footsteps, training hard at the gym, but his desire to look and feel good about himself was hampered by his lack of finances. The menial jobs his dyslexia attracted were never going to pay for the lifestyle he craved and so, like many foolish adolescents, he began to sell drugs to boost his income. Unlike Alvin, Percival’s warm and friendly personality made him easy to deal with and he had no shortage of customers who were prepared to buy from him. In the gyms where nightclub bouncers and their ilk go to train, Percival soon met and befriended many ‘useful’ individuals in the drug world. These people, who had extremely valuable contacts in the pubs and clubs where drugs were sold around Southend, soon helped Percival’s illegal business to prosper. Before he was 20 years of age, the boy who teachers had said would never do well for himself was wearing designer clothes, enjoying foreign holidays and driving top-of-the-range cars.
Whilst
His wafer-thin hopes of starting a new trouble-free life also failed him. Travelling home through the Rotherhithe tunnel one evening, with his brother Darren at the wheel, Alvin’s car was stopped by police, who suspected that it might have been stolen. When the officers searched the vehicle, they found a stun gun in Alvin’s sports bag. When asked what he was doing in possession of a prohibited weapon, Alvin said that it was not for his personal use and that he had merely purchased it for his partner, Barbara, because they lived in the Bronx.
With the very real possibility of a return to prison hanging over his head, Alvin abandoned his quest for salvation and returned to Essex. When Alvin appeared in court, he was given a conditional discharge and the weapon was confiscated. The news that welcomed Alvin upon his return to Essex did not please him. Malcolm, the man he idolised, was having an affair with his ex-girlfriend, Clair.
Those who knew Alvin at that time say that he tried to put on a brave face and laugh about it, but deep down he was a cauldron of boiling anger and jealousy.
By all accounts, Barbara is a thoroughly decent woman, who did all she could to make things work with him. Unfortunately, her hopes for happiness were dashed by Alvin’s overwhelming desire to become a ‘somebody’. The life he chose to lead brought the same sort of trouble to her door as Clair had endured. Trouble had also arrived at Malcolm’s door when his long-suffering wife, Bernadette, found out about his extra-marital affair with Clair and she kicked him out of her home. Due to circumstance rather than choice, Malcolm moved into a flat and was soon joined by his mistress. When Alvin learned that Malcolm and Clair had become an item, he resigned himself to the fact that he had lost his teenage sweetheart and did his sorry best to make his relationship with Barbara work.
His habitual offending, however, continued to be a constant source of disagreement between the couple. Barbara realised that it would only be a matter of time before Alvin was imprisoned, but, despite her protests, he didn’t seem to care.
Aged 20, Alvin was convicted of burglary, having robbed a clothes shop, and aged 24, he was charged with burglary at an MOT station. Like Barbara, the judge sentencing him realised that the threat of prison held no fear for Alvin and so he decided that a reminder of what life inside was like might help him to see the error of his ways. Alvin was sentenced to a term of nine months’ imprisonment.
Prison, as has been proved time and time again, is looked upon as an occupational hazard rather than a deterrent to young men like Alvin. As soon as he was released, he was back committing crime with his mentor Malcolm Walsh.
Like Alvin, Ricky Percival had been forging a contrasting but equally criminal lifestyle for himself. He had tried to follow in his brother’s footsteps, training hard at the gym, but his desire to look and feel good about himself was hampered by his lack of finances. The menial jobs his dyslexia attracted were never going to pay for the lifestyle he craved and so, like many foolish adolescents, he began to sell drugs to boost his income. Unlike Alvin, Percival’s warm and friendly personality made him easy to deal with and he had no shortage of customers who were prepared to buy from him. In the gyms where nightclub bouncers and their ilk go to train, Percival soon met and befriended many ‘useful’ individuals in the drug world. These people, who had extremely valuable contacts in the pubs and clubs where drugs were sold around Southend, soon helped Percival’s illegal business to prosper. Before he was 20 years of age, the boy who teachers had said would never do well for himself was wearing designer clothes, enjoying foreign holidays and driving top-of-the-range cars.
Whilst
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