He repeatedly assaulted him and threatened to ‘throw him in the sea’ in the row over loaned money
A violent blackmailer who was desperate to force a man to repay money that he had borrowed suddenly lost his temper and “snapped” before confronting the victim as he slept on a sofa inside his own home. Menacing and aggressive Bradley Kitcher launched a frightening barrage of threats, including that he would have the victim killed and that he would tie him up until he got his money.
He repeatedly assaulted the man and warned him that he would stick a knife in his neck and throw him in the sea, Hull Crown Court heard. Kitcher, 24, of Cliff Road, Hornsea, but recently in custody on remand, admitted an offence of blackmail on March 20. He pleaded guilty on the day of a scheduled trial.
Vincent Blake-Barnard, prosecuting, said that the man owed money to Kitcher. It increased to £700 and he was slow to repay it. Kitcher made threats that the man would not see his children again unless it was repaid.
He was warned that he needed to sleep with one eye open and he started sleeping downstairs on the sofa. On the day of the incident, his wife got up in the morning and took the children to school, leaving the door to their Hornsea home unlocked.
Kitcher went to the house, walked straight inside and found the man on the sofa. He kicked him on the head while the man was on the sofa.
“The assault took place along with threats again for his money,” said Mr Blake-Barnard. Kitcher sent the man upstairs to get dressed and he continued the assault, pulling the victim’s head down constantly and demanding not £700 but £2,000.
Kitcher said that he believed that the man was taking advantage of him and that he was not going to leave until he got his money. The victim managed to text his partner and told her: “Ring the police. He’s walked in our house. You left the door open.”
The man told Kitcher that he did not have the money and the assault continued in the garden. Kitcher took him from the house towards his own home and, when the victim asked why he was being taken there, Kitcher told him that he would stay at his house and he would tie him up and wait to get his money.
During the walk, Kitcher continued to make threats that he would stick a knife in the man’s neck and throw him in the sea. He warned that it would be easy to have him killed for £1,000. If he did not get his money, he would ring now and get the man killed.
“The walk itself was punctuated by threats and assaults witnessed by members of the public,” said Mr Blake-Barnard. One person heard Kitcher make the threat: “If you don’t get my f***ing money, I am going to come back and burn your house down with the kids in.”
During the walk, the man rang his partner to get some money. Kitcher spoke to her and said that he did not have an issue with her or her children but he just wanted his money. He made threats about her and the children.
“Very sensibly, she went straight to the police station,” said Mr Blake-Barnard. Kitcher tried to get the man to go into his home but he refused.
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Kitcher assaulted him and tried to force him into the flat. He pulled the man’s shirt over him and took his mobile phone and smashed it.
The man went into a post office, followed by Kitcher. “Threats continued in the post office in front of various members of the public,” said Mr Blake-Barnard.
“The owner of the post office told the defendant not to fight in there.” Kitcher eventually left and returned to his flat above the post office. Police attended and the man was taken to hospital by his partner and his injuries, including bruises around his eyes and tenderness to his jaw and chest, were treated.
Kitcher later told police that the man had been a good friend until recently but he kept begging him to loan him money and wanted £350. The man was difficult to get hold of and he did not answer the door when Kitcher went round.
Kitcher lost his temper when he looked through the man’s window and saw him. He told him that he wanted his money but denied making threats. “With hindsight, I regret the way it all panned out,” he said. He wanted to apologise.
Kitcher had convictions for 10 previous offences, including harassment in 2022. He was given a 21-month suspended prison sentence on December 18 last year for possessing Class A and B drugs with intent to supply.
The man later said: “I worry that I may never fully recover from this. I have been massively impacted from the trauma of this incident.
“I have been trapped in a cycle. I am not able to get out of it. We are still living with the effects of the incident every day.”
Zarreen Alam-Cheetham, mitigating, said that Kitcher made admissions to the police that he was owed money, lost his temper and hit and kicked the man. “There is a clear admission,” said Miss Alam-Cheetham.
“He accepted it very early on. He took responsibility for physical violence. The complainant, thankfully, has not been put through a trial.
“He did express remorse very early on, saying he regretted how this panned out and saying that he wanted to apologise.” Kitcher had still not been paid back the money after eight weeks and he was feeling frustrated.
“He was concerned about his own financial position in having loaned the money,” said Miss Alam-Cheetham. “He felt his own kindness in loaning the money was taken advantage of. He snapped.
“He knows that he should not have behaved as he did. He clearly lacked maturity in his decision-making that day.”
Kitcher was jailed for four years and 10 months. The sentence included a consecutive 18 months for breaching the suspended sentence.