Two men were today (Monday) jailed for a total of over 16 years after being found guilty of the “horrific” kidnap and assault of a man on a busy St Albans road in broad daylight.

Herts Advertiser: Two men have been imprisoned after being sentenced at St Albans Crown Court. Pictured is Clayton McKenzieTwo men have been imprisoned after being sentenced at St Albans Crown Court. Pictured is Clayton McKenzie (Image: Archant)

Clayton McKenzie, 36, of Harlesden, and David Rhoden, 28, from Neasden, were sentenced in St Albans Crown Court after being on trial since March 17 having been charged with a number of offences.

The duo were found guilty of kidnap, carrying a firearm with criminal intent, possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply, possessing a firearm at the time of committing an offence and Actual Bodily Harm.

Rhoden was also found guilty of making use of a firearm with intent to resist arrest and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

The court heard that a 30-year-old man from London had been walking along Hatfield Road in St Albans on the morning of November 16 when a silver Peugeot 306 pulled over.

The driver called the victim to the car, before getting out and hitting him on the back of his head.

The man was then dragged unconscious to the Peugeot.

Police became aware of the vehicle after it was seen on the M1 with an expired registration.

Two officers from Herts Police, deployed to patrol the county using automatic number plate recognition, pursued the car after it was flagged up for not having a renewed registration, which had expired in September last year.

But when they followed and attempted to stop the vehicle the driver sped off, reaching speeds of over 100mph.

Upon reaching Edgware, the driver and front seat passenger fled from the car while it was still moving.

When the two officers gave chase, one of the men fired backwards with two guns towards one of them. No one was injured.

The victim was then discovered, tied up, in the back of the car, and was taken to hospital for treatment.

McKenzie was subsequently arrested the following day in London, while Rhoden was arrested on November 29 following a firearms warrant at a Neasden address.

At the Crown Court, McKenzie was sentenced to six years and 190 days imprisonment, while Rhoden received a sentence of 10 years and 190 days in jail.

Adrian Foster, chief crown prosecutor for Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service said: “This case involved the horrific kidnap and assault of a 30-year-old man and a Herts police officer being indiscriminately shot at, which could have had far worse consequences.”