A man has been jailed after he was found with bullets.

Dejaun Lester – also known as Damien Young - appeared at St Albans Crown Court on Wednesday, October 9 after pleading guilty to two counts of possessing ammunition without holding a current firearms certificate.

The court heard how in the early hours of Tuesday, July 24, 2018, officers stopped a silver Vauxhall Corsa in Uxbridge Road, Rickmansworth in which Lester was a passenger.

They conducted a body search of Lester and recovered three 9mm gold Parabellum bullets from his front jeans pocket.

The 25-year-old, formerly of Curtis Close in Mill End, told officers he had found them in woodland in Bedfordshire and put them in his pocket before forgetting they were there.

Police later raided his former home address in Curtis Close, Mill End, on Wednesday, August 8, 2018 and found a safe containing three .22 long rifle calibre cartridges.

Possession of this requires a firearms certificate, which Lester did not have.

Lester was already subject to an order prohibiting him from possessing a firearm or ammunition for five years after being released from youth detention in 2014.

He was sentenced to 19 months in prison.

Detective Constable Rob King, who led the investigation, said: “The officers’ discovery of the bullets demonstrated that Lester showed clear contempt for the order which prohibited him from possessing ammunition.

“We are pleased with the sentence and hope he uses his time behind bars to carefully consider his next steps on release.”

Police say on the same day as the warrant (August 8, 2018) a full three-month closure order was served on the Curtis Close address after reports of suspected drug dealing and anti-social behaviour. The tenants were evicted and the housing association reclaimed the property.