A blackmailer who threatened to kneecap a north Cumbria horse trader in front of his loved ones after being sold a lame animal has been spared an immediate jail term.
Carlisle Crown Court heard today how 31-year-old Lee Concannon entered into an arrangement with a man living north of Penrith to buy the horse for £4,000 in February, 2021.
Concannon knew at the time the horse was not in ideal condition. It was therefore agreed that the trader would keep the horse for several weeks while the buyer raised funds and was kept up to date about the horse’s health with photographs and videos.
Appeased by these updates, Concannon collected the horse in late April that year but days later got back in touch with the seller saying the animal was lame and that he wanted a refund.
After the seller requested a medical report as proof, “things took a turn for the worse”, said prosecutor Brendan Burke, and he received messages from an unknown number on three consecutive days.
“On June 7 2021, he received a message,” said Mr Burke, “with an image of Mr Concannon’s bank details demanding £2,000 by the following Thursday or he would be kneecapped in front of his wife and children.
“The very next day a further message was sent containing an image of a hammer and knife. There was text saying ‘Thursday’; that’s referring to the threat from the previous day.”
In a third deadline message, there was a further demand for £2,000 by the following day. “Or he, Mr Concannon, was going to turn up at his address,” said Mr Burke.
In an impact statement, the trader had outlined “difficult” months after receiving the threats, and described “a great deal of stress, anxiety and sleeplessness”.
Concannon, a man without any previous criminal convictions, admitted three blackmail charges and, the court heard, had not been in trouble since his mid-2021 offending.
Correspondence had since been provided to indicate that the horse was lame when sold. And the sentencing judge, Recorder Tony Hawks, told Concannon: “I am prepared to accept the evidence that I have seen that it may well be that you were sold something which was not fit for purpose.”
But he said Concannon had been guilty of disgraceful behaviour in response to this. “There are ways of dealing with that,” Recorder Hawks told the defendant, of Elgin Terrace, Hamilton. “You can go to Trading Standards. You can instruct a solicitor. You can go to the Citizens Advice Bureau.
“You didn’t do any of these things. You committed three offences of blackmail by sending extremely unpleasant and threatening messages to the complainant.”
In view of the time that had elapsed and Concannon’s previous good character, the judge suspended a 12-month jail term for 18 months without further requirements.
“Don’t you do anything like this again otherwise you will end up going to prison,” said Recorder Hawks.
