A court has heard how a disgruntled buyer threatened to kneecap a horse trader in front of his wife and children during a series of menacing phone messages after their deal went sour.
The north Cumbria businessman had arranged in February 2021, to sell an animal for an agreed sum of £4,000 which was paid in instalments by 31-year-old buyer Lee Concannon.
Carlisle Crown Court heard Concannon had apparently been satisfied with frequent condition updates in the form of videos, pictures and health bulletins.
He collected the horse in late April that year but then sought to claim the animal was lame.
After the seller said he would only discuss the matter upon seeing veterinary evidence, Concannon became abusive and sent messages from an unknown number on three successive days in June, 2021.
One said pay £2,000 or he would be kneecapped in front of his wife and children, prosecutor Brendan Burke told the court. The next day, he received a picture of a knife and hammer with the written word Thursday.
And on June 9 the man was sent a message which read pay £2,000 by 11am tomorrow or he, the defendant, was coming around.
The matter was reported to police. Concannon, a man of previous good character, later admitted three offences of blackmail.
In an impact statement, the victim described stress, anxiety and sleeplessness at the time of the threats which was amplified when the grandfather for whom he cared died on the third day of Concannon’s offending.
The man remained shaken up, had avoided certain events and sales where he believed Concannon might be present and since restructured his business following a marked fall in sales.
Today’s sentencing hearing stalled after it was alleged on Concannon’s behalf that the horse was not sold in the agreed condition, and that there was evidence to support it having arthritis and being unable to bear weight.
That might have provided some justification for Concannon’s contact with the seller, although not the threats he had made, the court heard.
Judge Richard Archer adjourned the case for the production of evidence to clarify the position. Concannon, of Elgin Terrace, Hamilton, was bailed and is due back at the crown court on June 16.
