South Shields thugs jailed after threatening to 'shoot man's ear off' in kidnap and blackmail plot

Scheming Daniel Lake appeared before Newcastle Crown Court on July 7 where he admitted his part in a plan to lure an 18-year-old man to an address in South Tyneside in order to extort money from his family.

The court heard how Lake, also known as ‘Keithy’, had confronted the victim after he had been enticed to the property on February 21, where he threatened him and forced him to call his mother begging for cash.

When his mother hung up believing the call to be a hoax, Lake soon bombarded her with more calls – making sure she could hear her son screaming in the background and making threats to ‘shoot his ear off’ if she didn’t pay a sum of £2,000 – later increased to £4,000.

Lake and his accomplice Joe Corner, who had been present at the address, then bundled their victim into a car and travelled to his home address where a further violent confrontation took place.

With Corner’s support, Lake continued to demand cash from the panic-stricken family and an altercation broke out in which Lake subjected the victim’s dad to a nasty assault.

After the brutes fled the scene, the family contacted Northumbria Police and an investigation was launched by detectives.

Lake and Corner were subsequently arrested a short time later, taken in to custody and charged. The pair appeared at Newcastle Crown Court on Wednesday where they admitted their respective roles in the callous conspiracy.

Instigator Daniel Lake, 30, of Landseer Gardens, South Shields admitted kidnap, blackmail and affray and was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

His accomplice Jo Corner, 26, of Birkdale, South Shields, admitted affray and possession of a bladed weapon and was jailed for nine months.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Graeme Barr, of Northumbria Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team said: “The calculated actions of these dangerous, violent men, who exploited a mother’s love for her son to try to force her to hand over a large amount of money to secure his safety, led to a horrendous situation for the victim and his family.

"I applaud and thank them for their bravery in coming forward to seek justice in the matter.”

He added: “This was a complicated enquiry from the outset. Both convicted men persistently denied their actions, but thanks to the painstaking work of our detectives, a solid case was put together, leaving Lake and Corner no option but to plead guilty.

“As a Force will continue to fight violent crime and bring men like Lake and Corner to justice. Hopefully this outcome will deter other criminals from this sort of cruel behaviour in future.”

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