A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court heard how Connor Price was kidnapped from a retail park in Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales and stabbed multiple times by his captors
A man was repeatedly stabbed and threatened with a fake firearm after being shoved into a car, blindfolded and kidnapped before his abductors tried to kill him. It was only when the victim’s dad devised a plan to save his son and rammed the kidnappers’ car with his own vehicle, that he managed to escape through a car window.
Tyshane Brown, 30, Luke Williams, 19, and George Miles-Williams, 24, were implicated in the abduction of Connor Price, 28, from Cyfarthfa Retail Park in Merthyr Tydfil on February 10, demanding £5,000 from his girlfriend or they would murder him. Mr Price sustained multiple stab wounds and collapsed after escaping, under the impression he had been shot in the leg, police said.
A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Friday revealed Williams contacted Mr Price, an acquaintance, and requested to meet him at Cyfartha Retail Park. Plans were made and the defendants journeyed down to Merthyr Tydfil from Hereford, with Mr Price driving to the car park accompanied by his girlfriend.
Wales Online reported Ruben Ritchie was forced by the defendants to drive them by threatening him with a gun. En route to Merthyr Tydfil, the car was halted in Kington, Herefordshire, where Brown exited to rummage through the bushes and returned to the car carrying a large bag.
Upon reaching the retail park, Miles-Williams entered McDonalds and searched for the victim, who later arrived in a red Vauxhall Astra. He left the engine running and his girlfriend stayed in the passenger seat.
Mr Price approached the Hyundai carrying the defendants and was instructed to climb into the back seat. As Mr Price leaned into the car, Williams yanked him in while Brown exited the vehicle.
Brown brandished a knife, using it to jab Mr Price in the back and abdomen. Upon hearing his girlfriend’s alarmed query of “What’s going on”, he informed her “They’ve got knives and guns.”
Despite a desperate attempt to flee, Mr Price was hauled back into the car by Williams. Once Brown re-entered the Hyundai, they sped away.
Mr Price’s girlfriend tried to tail the Hyundai, but lost sight of them as she exited the car park. Recounting the case details, the Recorder of Cardiff Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke stated that Williams also wielded a knife, putting Mr Price in a headlock before repeatedly stabbing him in the stomach and back.
Both Williams and Brown demanded money for a bike advertised on Facebook, assaulting Mr Price with the butt of a gun and stabbing him in the stomach. Mr Price then witnessed Brown loading a gold bullet into the gun while donning latex gloves; he warned the victim: “Keep that up and we’ll shoot you.”
Miles-Brown, seated in the passenger seat, laughed as Mr Price insisted to his attackers that he had no money. Brown subsequently contacted Mr Price’s girlfriend, threatening her: “Darling, if you know what’s best for you, don’t ring the police or he’ll be dead.”
In the background, she could hear Mr Price being harmed and said he was being cut. The defendants demanded a ransom of £5,000 for Mr Price’s “release and safety”.
Mr Price’s girlfriend rang his father, Jordan Price, and relayed the situation. He instructed her to arrange a rendezvous with the kidnappers at Cyfarthfa retail park for the drop-off.
The plan was for Mr Price’s girlfriend to toss a coat out of the car, tricking the defendants into thinking she had dropped off a bag of cash, while Jordan Price and his mates would lie in wait in the car park and shut the barriers to prevent the defendants from leaving. At 9.37pm, Mr Price’s girlfriend parked up at Cyfarthfa Retail Park and the defendants showed up a minute later.
She dropped the decoy ransom and drove out of the car park as Miles-Williams exited the car to retrieve the coat. Upon realising he’d been hoodwinked, Miles-Williams tried to dash back to the Hyundai as Jordan Price and his friends lowered the barrier at the exit and placed a large bin in the road.
They attempted to open the doors of the Hyundai, but the car sped off with one man clinging on to a door handle. Brown and Williams managed to escape, with Mr Price still in the car.
The victim made another attempt to escape and was hanging out of a car window, as Brown stabbed him in the left hand with the blade passing through. Mr Price managed to yank the knife out and tossed it away but he was stabbed in the back of the leg by Williams and thought he had been shot.
Jordan Price hopped into the Astra and gave chase to his son’s abductors, ramming the Hyundai twice when he caught up with them. Mr Price exited the vehicle and collapsed, his father scooping him up and rushing him to hospital, fearing he would bleed out.
The victim sustained injuries to the bridge of his nose, the right side of his face, superficial wounds to his abdomen, back, groin and deep wounds to his left thigh and right knee. His left hand needed surgery after a tendon in his finger was cut.
The defendants ditched the Hyundai and rang Williams’ sister for a lift, claiming Williams had been hurt. He later confessed to his mum “I f****d up and I’m going to prison, I’ll explain later.”
They were driven to Brown’s caravan in Talgarth, Powys, where Williams chucked his mobile out of the car window. Both he and Brown stripped off their clothes and bagged them up for disposal.
They planned to “put their heads together” to concoct a consistent tale and Williams tried to pressure his sister into sticking to the story. Miles-Williams was arrested on February 18 and in the days that followed, Brown and Williams reset their phones to factory settings. They were both arrested on February 27 at a caravan park in Kidderminster.
Brown, from Grange Road, Weymouth, Williams, of Ty Rhydycar, Merthyr Tydfil, and Miles-Williams, residing at Goldrill, Clifford, Hereford, were subsequently convicted of attempted murder, kidnapping, blackmail, wounding with intent, possession of an imitation firearm and possession of a blade.
The court was informed that Brown has previous convictions for involvement in the supply of cocaine and money laundering, while Williams has a conviction for cannabis possession, but Miles-Williams has no prior criminal record. In defence of Brown, Robert Tolhurst stated his client doesn’t hold a British passport and his application to stay in the UK would likely be rejected.
He explained that the defendant grew up in Jamaica where he witnessed murders following street shootings, leaving him traumatised. The court was told that Williams had been manipulated by older individuals and from a young age, he was “indoctrinated into being a part of the drugs fraternity”.
Alex Greenwood, representing Miles-Williams, said his client got involved in dealing class A drugs and fell into the “dark belly of violence serious criminality”. During sentencing, Judge Lloyd-Clarke characterised Brown as the “leader and driving force” behind the offences, stating that Williams played a “significant role” and Miles-Williams a “secondary role”.
Brown received a 30-year prison sentence with an extended licence period of three years. Williams was handed a 25-year sentence in a young offenders institute, with an additional two-year extended licence period. Miles-Williams received a 20-year prison sentence.
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