Two Nottinghamshire brothers have been jailed for kidnapping a businessman off the street and threatening to cut off his toes.
Dominic and Jason Usher along with Greg King forced the 53-year-old man into a van in Heanor, Derbyshire, and bound his legs and hands on the evening of Monday, April 28 2014.
They then punched him, and threatened to stab him and chop off his toes if he didn’t give them the keys to his safe.
When he was not forthcoming the men paid his friend a visit and attempted to blackmail him.
Unsuccessful, they then took their victim to a remote farm track in Watnall and left him to find his own way to safety — shoeless, battered and bruised and with his legs and hands still bound.
He eventually flagged down a passing motorist.
A trial at Stafford Crown Court on Wednesday found Dominic, 29, of Colmon Walk in Nottingham, guilty of kidnap, blackmail, robbery and arson.
He also admitted to conspiring to pervert the course of justice and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a tariff of 11 and a half years.
Jason, 27, of Willow Hill Close in Nottingham, pleaded guilty to kidnap, blackmail and arson and was acquitted of conspiring to pervert the course of justice; he received a ten year prison sentence.
Also involved was Gregory James King, 30, of Portland Road in Selston, Nottinghamshire, who previously pleaded guilty to kidnap and blackmail and was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison.
Dominic Usher’s girlfriend Grainne Cafferkey, 24, of Cromwell Street in Nottingham, was also sentenced to 44 months for previously pleading guilty to pervert the course of justice after she and a friend attempted to pay off a witness in the kidnap case.
And Scott Finch, 32, of Durnford Street in Nottingham, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and received a 16 month prison sentence.
Crime always leaves a footprint
Paul Myers of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit said: “Crime always leaves a footprint and we do everything within our means to bring violent individuals like Dominic Usher before a judge.
“Thankfully the victims in these cases escaped with cuts and bruises, which have since healed but the psychological effects of their ordeals remains with them still.
“I hope today’s jail terms give them some comfort to go about their lives without fear.”
A few weeks before this incident, Dominic Usher was involved in a robbery at a house in Beckley Road, Arnold, in Nottinghamshire.
A ceramic vase was smashed over the head of the 31-year-old resident in a hunt for cash and jewellery.
She was also punched, tied up and threatened with being stabbed and shot.
In Cossall, Nottinghamshire, three days later, Dominic and Jason set fire to the stolen convertible Mazda used in the robbery.
Enquiries by detectives not only led them to the Usher brothers and King for the kidnap but found further evidence linking Dominic to the robbery.
