A violent gang abducted a man in Brighton, cable-tied his wrists, beat him up and tortured him, threatened to decapitate him and poured bleach all over him including his wounds.
A jury was told that two of the five men in the group had pleaded guilty to kidnap but three others had denied the charge.
Janet Weeks, prosecuting, said that the kidnappers forced the man into a black BMW in Chiddingly Close, Brighton, and later bundled him into a white rental van where he was tortured for his address.
She told the jury at Hove Crown Court that they punched, kicked and threatened the abducted man and held a knife to his throat before burgling his home and stealing £1,700.
Regan White, 22, of Firle Road, Brighton, and William Westein, 28, of Cowfold Road, Brighton, both admit kidnapping Mr Martin.
Stephen Marsh, 41, of Firle Road, Brighton, 24-year-old Frankie Whittington, also known as Chunkz or Chunky, of Saunders Park View, Brighton, and Harry Avis, 26, of Swanborough Drive, Brighton, deny the charge.
Miss Weeks said: “The five of them targeted a man by the name of David Martin. They saw him as a soft target.
“Martin was involved in the supply of cannabis so it is easy to see how he might be considered a lucrative and easy target – or he might have got himself indebted in some way to these men or others who these men might have been acting for.
“The defendants engaged in a series of criminal acts to kidnap him. The purpose was to obtain information relating to his address.
“They assaulted him, made threats and acts of physical assault and intimidated him with threats of further harm.
“Each defendant is alleged to have played a deliberate and integral role in the prolonged incident.
“In effect, these defendants forcibly took Mr Martin. They held him against his will and, while detained, they tortured him to reveal his address which he eventually gave up.
“They then burgled the two properties he revealed. All defendants were aware of and were complicit in the events which unfolded – and they were executed with significant planning and premeditation and organisation in advance.”
Miss Weeks told the jury that kidnap and burglaries took place at about 3.30pm on Saturday 5 November 2022 – still daylight – when David Martin and his partner, Alexandra Rolfe, were in Whitehawk Crescent, Brighton.
She said: “They were there to visit an address in an adjoining street, Chiddingly Close. David Martin was concerned in drug dealing – cannabis.
“He had just sent out a bulk message offering his wares and revealing his location. He walked to an address while Ms Rolfe remained in the car.”
As he walked back to his car, Mr Martin spotted some men with identities concealed and became suspicious.
Miss Weeks said: “Mr Martin started to run and tried to conceal himself within nearby bushes. But two of the defendants cornered Mr Martin. They were in dark clothing, their faces obscured by scarves.
“Mr Martin was struck multiple times with a metallic object and forcibly removed from these bushes. He pleaded with these men not to take him. He fought back.
“Despite his efforts, they succeeded in throwing Martin into a black vehicle, shutting the car door, preventing his escape. Mr Martin noted that there were other men already in the car when he was thrown in.
“Several residents of Whitehawk Crescent and Chiddingly Close witnessed a male being forced into a black car while others heard screams at the time of the alleged abduction.
“David Martin’s partner, Alexandra Rolfe, witnessed these events unfold from her own vehicle. She sounded her horn.
“While the two males abducted Martin, another male approached her vehicle and struck her window, shattering it.
“Ms Rolfe then phoned the police. Initially, when she made that call, she lied, pretending to be an unconnected bystander.
“Although she lied, she described what she had witnessed. It was also witnessed by a number of members of the public. The kidnapping was committed in broad daylight.”
The kidnappers drove Mr Martin to The Deneway, Brighton, threatening him and attacking during the journey, during which he was blindfolded.
Miss Weeks said: “Mr Martin could only really distinguish one of the kidnappers, describing the one who used a saw on him as fatter than the others. The prosecution say that this was Mr Whittington.”
They dumped Mr Martin near Queen’s Park about two hours later, having forced the lock at his Bedford Square home.
Miss Weeks said: “At about 5.30pm, Mr Martin was released in North Drive, Brighton. It was November – winter time – he’s got no top on.
“He was soon found in a distressed state and asking for help by several passers-by. Mr Martin was described by these witnesses as distressed, smelling strongly of bleach, with his hands cable-tied behind his back.
“He described to these witnesses and, later, to the police that he was abducted, assaulted and threatened over a prolonged period.”
Miss Weeks said that a great deal of circumstantial evidence linked the defendants to the kidnap, assault and burglaries, including an electronic tag worn by White.
They were also linked to what had happened by DNA evidence, a tracker in the van hired by one of the gang, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras and mobile phone cell site data.
Whittington’s phone was switched off during Mr Martin’s two-hour ordeal but messages indicate that he using Marsh’s phone, Miss Weeks said.
The trial continues.
Scab dealers, as long as no one but scabs get hurt let them get on with it, any civilians get hurt then put 5 years on them as a starting point.
The usual addresses of these scummy creatures.
Brighton train station on Friday and Saturday night, a site to behold, groups of scumbags waiting for scum drug dealers to come to this city, was stopped by these so- called people on queen’s road who were trying to stop me walking home, 3 men and one woman from the hostels, was told I had nowhere to run as the men got angry, the woman then told me to go with her if I wished to live, told them to f off, and carried on, this was in broad daylight, worrying times,