Four young men kidnapped a teenager and held him to ransom on Snapchat in the hope of stealing up to £30,000 in cash and cryptocurrency from him. In a case described as ‘gangland stuff’ and one of the most serious of its type, Nickyle Harris, Panashe Mahachi, Danreiko Henry and Daejon Byfeild abducted the victim outside a snooker hall in Digbeth after he tried to buy nitrous oxide.
They drove him to Oldbury where they pointed an imitation shotgun at his mouth as well as whacked him with a machete, knuckledusters and their fists as they threatened to kill him. During the two-hour ordeal they sent videos to his friends demanding money but soon realised he did not have the five-figure sums they were initially led to believe.
They ended up stealing £377 in cash and forced him to transfer more than £800 worth of cryptocurrency before they dropped him off at a railway station. The four men, who had never previously been convicted of a crime, were jailed for nearly 40 years in total at Birmingham Crown Court earlier today.
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Judge Simon Drew Kc described it as a ‘truly shocking and terrifying incident’ adding: “This really is one of the most serious kidnapping incidents that I have seen come before these courts.”
The victim had been at SnowHill Snooker Centre in Digbeth on September 2 last year when he contacted Harris, who he knew as ‘Zigs’, to buy laughing gas. Harris arrived outside the venue around 7pm in a Volkswagen driven by Byfield.
Prosecutor Nigel Stelling said: “As he approached a man called Fresco, which is Mr Mahachi, hit him over the head. That caused him to lose consciousness and he was pulled into the vehicle.
“The inference is it was Mr Harris who pulled him inside, he had taken a seat in the rear. When he regained consciousness he found himself sat in the rear in the middle seat with Mr Harris and Mr Mahachi either side. Mr Byfield was the driver and Mr Henry was the front seat passenger.”
He told the court when they got to Oldbury the victim handed over his phone, trainers and £377 in cash after being threatened by a fake sawn-off shotgun held by Henry and a machete held by Byfield. Mr Stelling added: “He was also forced to convert cryptocurrency into money. That took quite some time causing a degree of frustration among his attackers and he was repeatedly asked if he wanted to die.”
The prosecutor detailed the various methods of coercion including being hit with a ‘smartwhip’ metal canister used to hold nitrous oxide as well as being told ‘he would not make it to bed tonight’. Mr Stelling continued: “The defendants made video recordings in the car which they posted on his Snapchat.
“They showed the shotgun being held by Mr Henry and the complainant being pushed around generally. The videos were sent to his group chats. The defendants used Snapchat to demand ransom money for ‘five bags’ or ‘£5,000’ from his friends.
“Before the offence, Mr Harris said they could expect to obtain £30,000 from him. When it became apparent no such payments were going to be coming the others became upset with Mr Harris who apologised.”
The victim was eventually dropped off at Sandwell and Dudley Railway Station between 9pm and 10pm by which time one of his friends had called the police.
All four defendants admitted kidnap, robbery, having an imitation firearm with intent and threatening someone with a bladed article. Byfield also pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to supply.
Harris, aged 20, of Walton Road, Oldbury, was sentenced to ten years. Justin Hugheston-Roberts, defending, conceded the case was ‘gangland stuff’. He said: “I asked him ‘why?’. He said: ‘I don’t know it was a moment of madness’. There is genuine contrition, understanding and realisation of the terror that must have been felt by the young man.”
Mahachi, 20, of Linden Avenue, Oldbury, received nine years and six months. Ben Hargreaves, mitigating for him, told the court he was from an ‘excellent family who are shattered’ by his actions. He added: “There was no great planning because no-one knew the victim would be calling one of them seeking nitrous oxide.
“There was a rush, asking friends to help, young men being buoyed up by their own stupidity supporting each other and not having the courage or maturity to say ‘what are we doing? This is ridiculous’. It was going with the crowd.”
Byfield, 20, of Springbank Road, Oldbury, was sentenced to ten years while Henry, 19, of Hamilton Drive, Oldbury, was sentenced for eight years and six months.
Joseph Keating, representing both, said: “They both talk about a lack of maturity. It’s a real shame because the character references paint two individuals who are very different in nature, have positivity in their outlook, have positive contributions to their families and society and had a bright future ahead of both of them.”
Mr Keating added: “Both asked me to reiterate how sorry they are to the victim and their own families. Their families are mortified, very upset and scared about the impact this is going to have upon them.”
Judge Drew, passing sentence, said: “The starting point isn’t about any of the four of you. It’s about the victim. He was the person who was kidnapped in the street. He was the person who was hit on the head, knocked unconscious and come to in the back of a car.
“He was the one who was threatened and assaulted in the car, not merely verbal threats but threatened with a machete and a sawn-off shotgun. He didn’t know it didn’t work. All of you told him you were going to kill him.
“No doubt he had every reason to believe that was true. I do want you to think about this. That could have been any of you or your friends or your brother or a cousin. There is absolutely no question this was a truly shocking and terrifying incident.”
However, he also acknowledged the case was ‘tragic’ for each of the defendants and he confirmed he had reduced the terms of imprisonment ‘slightly’ after considering sentencing guidelines for young adults.
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