A drug dealer threatened to blackmail a customer who owed him a £2,000 debt and threatened that men from Cardiff would put him into the back of a van and kill him. The customer was also told that if he was not found, there would be consequences for his family and children.
Dominic Price, 37, had been in contact with his victim Jonathan Mott, who had racked up a £2,000 drug debt, and an agreement had been reached for him to repay the debt. This involved him selling drugs on Price’s behalf for several months but matters came to a head after the defendant made repeated requests for the money.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday heard Price contacted Mr Mott by telephone on February 22 and told him he needed to repay the debt in full. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here
Prosecutor Abdallah Barakat said: “The defendant said he would give his name and address to people from Cardiff and those individuals would find (Mr Mott), drag him, cut him and stab him, put him into the back of a van and kill him.”
Mr Mott was told he needed to repay the money by February 23 or he would face the consequences.
The victim called the police and his voice appeared to be shaky as he was in a state of distress.
The defendant was arrested and interviewed, but he responded: “I haven’t done nothing and I have said nothing, this is a set up.”
In a victim personal statement read to the court, Mr Mott said: “Dominic has ruined my life, the life of my parents and my children. When he made threats to me I was terrified, I was shaking and could not stop crying. I didn’t know what to do. I was scared to contact the police and make things worse but I felt there was no other way I could keep myself and my family safe.
“I feel Dominic is a predator who took advantage of me and has impacted every part of my life. Me and my family have never experienced anything like this before. My family is extremely nervous the threats are going to be carried out. My parents are still very nervous they will be targeted by Dominic or I will be hurt by them.”
The victim said he had to leave his job in a school as he was concerned about the safety of the children and he thought about making an attempt on his own life.
Mr Barakat said Price was also to be dealt with for drug possession offences after police attended his home on January 8.
The defendant locked the door and refused to open it but a search was carried out after police gained entry.
They discovered cocaine, amphetamine and bromazolam.
Price, of Clos Dyfodwg, Llantwit Fardre, later pleaded guilty to blackmail and possession of class A and C drugs.
The court heard he has 12 previous convictions, the majority of which are drug related.
In mitigation, Harry Baker said not all of the victim’s problems could be laid at the feet of his client, and referred to the victim losing his job at the school because of his involvement in drugs.
Recorder Paul Lewis KC sentenced Price to 27 months imprisonment.
Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here. We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login