September 6, 2017 4.22 pm This story is over 77 months old

Four men jailed after victim attacked in Birchwood over ‘drug debt’

A man was left so terrified after being beaten up that he was physically sick.

A man was left so terrified after being beaten up as part of a drug feud that he was physically sick, Lincoln Crown Court was told.

Victim Robert Edminson was approached by a group of men as he walked to a friend’s home on the Birchwood Estate in Lincoln.

Gurdial Singh, prosecuting, said that Edminson was on Regent Avenue when he suddenly saw the men running towards him.

Kadeem Williams

He sought refuge in the nearby home of another friend managing to get inside and close the door.

Mr Singh said: “There was a contretemps inside the property and those inside ejected Edminson. He was then outside in the front garden.”

Edminson tried to run off but the men caught him and tried to get him into a waiting car.

Joshua Phelps

Mr Singh added: “They started hitting and stamping on him. To stop himself being struck he got into the car.

“Two of the men sat either side of him. He was asked about money that he owed and he was told he would be taken to Leeds.

“He was then taken to a house and escorted inside. He was made to sit in a chair and was further interrogated about the debt.”

Marcel McKoy-Blair

Mr Singh said that arrangements were made that Edminson would carry out a robbery to repay the debt.

Edminson was later released from the property in the Monks Road area of Lincoln and took a taxi away from the house.

Mr Singh said: “The taxi driver who took him described a strong smell of sick in the car and police officers who later saw the complainant noted he smelled of sick.”

Jake Walker

Mr Edminson was later taken to hospital where he was treated for blurred vision and tenderness around his left eye.

Mr Singh said: “The incident arose out of a drug debt that Kadeem Williams said was owed to him.”

Four men each admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm arising out of the incident on the evening of March 17 this year.

Kadeem Williams, 26, of Mandela Court, Leeds; and Marcel McKoy-Blair, 24, of Heights Drive, Leeds, were each jailed for two and a half years.

Joshua Phelps, 26, of Chatterton Avenue, Lincoln, was jailed for two years.

Jake Walker, 22, of Cannon Street, Lincoln, was jailed for 16 months.

Recorder Jacob Hallam , passing sentence, said: “The victim endured a sustained assault. There was premeditation and there was the background of the supply of illegal drugs.”

Giles Green, for Williams, said he came from a good family and his time in custody on remand had been a stark lesson to him.

Keith Allen, for McKoy-Blair, said the incident was relatively short-lived. He added: “He wants to put himself onto an even keel.”

Karen Walton, for Phelps, said he accepted he participated in a joint enterprise but had not struck any blows.

Michael Cranmer-Brown, for Walker, said he was less involved and described him as “a minor player”.