Gang jailed for kidnapping Bristol woman

A woman feared she was going to be raped and killed when she was kidnapped by a gang armed with a knife and machete and bundled into the boot of a car.

Terrified and screaming, Danielle Devonshire was trapped for "a considerable amount of time" after being attacked and taken from her Hartcliffe home.

Bristol Crown Court heard that a car deal that went wrong led to reprisals from five young men who committed the "spontaneous" but "brazen" abduction before abandoning her and the car.

Chioke Reid, 18, of Pen Park Road, Southmead; Jarid Donatien, 22, of Broad Mead Park; Andres Pritchard, 19, of Tudor Road, Easton; Michael Parsons, 19, of no fixed abode, were all jailed. Theo Veira, 18, of Charterhouse Road, St George, was given a community order.

Christopher Quinlan, prosecuting, said last summer's troubles stemmed from a Fiat Punto Reid had agreed to buy in instalments from Miss Devonshire's boyfriend Paul Brunyee. There was a disagreement about that contract and one day the Punto went missing.

Suspecting Mr Brunyee had something to do with its disappearance, Reid called him on June 17 and asked him if he still had the spare keys.

At about noon, a group including Reid and Parsons went to see Mr Brunyee at Millmead House, Hartcliffe, where he lived with Miss Devonshire, in her twenties, and his 72-year-old father Les.

The court heard that as Mr Brunyee stood in a neighbouring flat with the spare car keys, Parsons pulled out a knife, put it to his neck and said: "Tell us where the car is."

The group left but the five defendants and two other unknown men came back at 2.45pm – with Pritchard armed with a machete that had been taken from the flats earlier.

After finding out Mr Brunyee was not there, Pritchard put the machete to Miss Devonshire's face, asked her for the spare keys and said "you're going to get cut". Meanwhile, Parsons pulled out his knife and threatened to cut Mr Brunyee Snr.

Mr Quinlan said one of the gang was heard to say: "Grab her, she's coming with us, take her to the car."

He added: "She struggled, she was bundled from the address and dragged down several flights of stairs."

The court heard that when outside she tried to escape, fell over and Reid chased her and detained her.

Parsons got her in a headlock before she was thrown into the boot of the car.

Mr Quinlan said: "It was brazen kidnap because it took place in broad daylight and was witnessed by several people who gave evidence to the police."

Driven by Donatien, the car was abandoned in Greenditch Avenue and the gang ran off, leaving Miss Devonshire in the boot. The court heard Donatien believed he had unlocked the boot but she was still trapped for "a number of minutes". A witness who saw her escape said she looked like a "hunted animal". The defendants were arrested nearby.

All five defendants admitted kidnap. Parsons also admitted possessing a knife and Pritchard admitted possessing a the machete.

Since the ordeal, Miss Devonshire has been terrified something else might happen, the court heard.

In her statement she said she feared for her life and revealed Mr Brunyee, who she has since split from, was involved in the car going missing.

Judge Michael Longman sentenced Pritchard and Parsons to a total of three-and-a-half years in young offenders' institutions. Reid got two years and three months in a young offenders' institution and Donatien was sent to prison for the same length of time.

Due to his lesser involvement, Veira was spared prison, given an 18-month supervision order and must do 150 hours of unpaid work.

Judge Longman said: "I accept that when you visited the flat, the kidnap that then took place had not been planned, rather it took place in that sense spontaneously.

"I bear in mind the physical injury suffered by Miss Devonshire was slight, although the psychological impact, both in the short and long term, was significant."

Mark Worsley and Timothy Rose, mitigating for Reid and Pritchard respectively, said the kidnap was by no means premeditated.

Pushpanjali Gohil, for Veira, said he had not gone into the flat with the others and only got in the car because he was frightened of being left on his own.

Donatien's barrister Matthew Comer said he felt "unprompted remorse and regret" and Parsons now fully accepts his role, David Martin said.