Reading men sentenced after teenager is kidnapped and threatened with a gun over drug debts

Three men from Reading were involved in the incident, which saw an 18-year-old from Swindon suffer broken bones in his face after he was ambushed with a hammer.

Connor Stacey, from Tilehurst and Daniel Dowling, from Calcot, were convicted of kidnap and grevious bodily harm, while Francis Koroma, from Reading, was sentenced for kidnap and possession of a firearm with intent to commit a kidnapping.

In September, two men from Swindon pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and they were sentenced to 25 months and 27 months respectively.

Jamie Bullen and Callum Barlow acted on behalf of the Reading trio and lured the victim to a house in Penhill, Swindon, where he was attacked.

Dowling, Stacey and Koroma then drove the victim to Reading and during the drive he was threatened with a gun by Koroma.

He was initially taken to a lock up garage in the town where he was told there were two bullets for the gun and the gang threatened him with Russian roulette. A video of him having a revolver pointed at him was posted by one of the perpetrators on social media soon afterwards.

He was then moved to a nearby hotel where he was tied up and left alone until the next day, when he was driven round the town to raise cash to pay off a drug debt of £3,000 to £4,000.

The 22-year-old Stacey was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Dowling and Koroma, both aged 23, were handed sentences of 14 years at Swindon Crown Court.

Detective inspector Paul Hacker said: "We are not only pleased with the guilty verdicts from a couple of weeks ago but are also pleased with the sentencing of all five men.

"Stacey, Koroma and Dowling came to Swindon from Reading to carry out the kidnap and brutal assault of a young Swindon man over a sustained period of time.

"The use of weapons and a firearm in this assault made this an extremely serious offence for which Wiltshire Police were committed to bringing these individuals to justice.

"This type of violent crime and the use of weapons in our county will not be tolerated and this result sends a clear message to support that - if you come here we will catch you and you will be locked up.

"Anyone who is considering carrying out these kind of actions in our county should pay heed to this case and consider the serious consequences of doing so.

"Regardless of what the victim was involved in, at the end of the day he is a human being and was subjected to the utmost violence and contempt. The world of drugs is a dangerous business and the victim in this case nearly paid for that with his life.

"I would like to praise his bravery throughout the case for standing up to these attackers and enabling the evidence to be put before the court.

"The people responsible for his abduction have at no stage shown any remorse for their actions."