A man armed with a knife barged into a house and scared the living daylights out of five kids before stealing the family's XL Bully puppy, leaving everyone shaken and horrified.
The whole ordeal unfolded in Derbyshire, where Anthony Brown, 24, took it upon himself to enter the home. He made threats, not sparing the five children, aged between two and eleven, who were hanging out with their mom in the house.
There was also another dog, a Staffie, in the mix.
After the threats, Brown snatched the young XL Bully from its cage and dashed off with the pet, all with the intention of pressuring the family into coughing up cash that the woman's sister supposedly owed him for some drug debt.
Later on, in a phone call, this guy told the sister's dad, "I'm from London, and she owes me £5,000, and where I come from, if we don't get paid, we go after the next family member."
A judge slapped him with a four-year prison sentence, and Judge Martin Hurst didn't mince words, saying, "She was understandably absolutely terrified, not just for herself but the children because a strange man she did not know simply walked into her house. You noticed the puppy in the corner and took it hostage. You threatened to firebomb the house and kill the dog you had stolen. You moved from London to get away from this kind of trouble, but what you have seemed to do is bring it with you to Derbyshire."
According to Alex Wolfson, the prosecutor, the victim's sister had racked up a drug debt, which the defendant later claimed to be around £5,000, with people who had been her suppliers. On April 24, 2022, she was at home with five kids, and her door was unlocked.
Wolfson recounted, "At one point, shortly after 7 pm, the defendant opened the door and walked into the living room, and she heard him say 'Oi.' She immediately said back 'What's up,' and he replied that she needed to ring her sister. She said 'Why what's happened?' and he was pacing around and took a lock knife out of his pocket and opened it to show her the blade. She said 'no, not in here, please, there are kids; let's walk outside,' and the defendant said 'I will stab everyone up in here.'"
The situation escalated as Brown threatened the dog and took the XL Bully with him, claiming he'd return it when her sister paid up. The victim locked the door and called her dad.
Shortly after, the father tried to contact the daughter who owed the money but couldn't reach her. Then, he received a call from an unfamiliar number. The voice on the other end identified as "a black lad from London" and reiterated the debt issue, adding a chilling threat to harm the dog.
Brown, residing in Comyn Gardens, St Anns, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to blackmail, possessing a bladed article, and having cannabis when he was arrested. His criminal record traces back to his youth, including previous offenses for carrying weapons, theft, and drug possession with intent to supply.
Steve Cobley, in his defense, revealed that Brown's family had relocated him from London to the East Midlands to steer him away from a life of crime. He also mentioned Brown's use of drugs as a coping mechanism for past traumatic experiences. The family's identity remains protected by law due to their status as blackmail victims.
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