A Luton man who threatened to burn down the home of woman who was due to give evidence against a friend was on Monday, October 10, 2022, jailed for eight months.
Joseph Hayworth, now 20, set up two Snapchat accounts to send threatening messages to the woman on July 14 and 15, 2021, last year.
Prosecutor Philip Misner told Luton Crown Court that the first message gave her 24 hours to withdraw her evidence and included a video of her mother’s home in Luton.
The next day he contacted her again saying she had 12 hours or the home would burn. The police were called.
A search was carried out of the cell in Bedford prison where a friend of Hayworth was being held on charges of falsely imprisoning the woman and making threats to kill her. An illegal phone was discovered, which led to the arrest of Hayworth.
In a statement the victim said the messages made her feel anxious, had preyed on her mind and had made her have to take sleeping tablets. Hayworth, of Keepers Close, Luton, appeared for sentence having pleaded guilty to witness intimidation.
Defending, Ravi Chandrapala said Hayworth was of previous good character and had made immediate admissions to the police.
He said: “He has written a letter and expresses remorse and wishes to apologise to the victim. They were empty threats.”
Jailing him, Recorder Patrick Fields said: “The threats were of a serious nature. Victims in cases of this type (threats to kill and false imprisonment) are vulnerable.
“The need for deterrence means the only appropriate sentence is immediate imprisonment.”
The judge said he would have jailed him for 15 months if the case had not been delayed.
The prosecutor said he did not know why it had taken so long to come to court. He also made a restraining order banning him from contacting the victim for five years.
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