Two people who menaced a mum over a perceived £200 loan have been sentenced. Lee Sage took a loaded crossbow when they harassed the complainant for the cash, while both he and Lauren Coleman assaulted her.
Sage, 38, of Auburn Avenue in Longwell Green, pleaded guilty to blackmail and battery. Coleman, 25, of St Andrews Road in Avonmouth, pleaded guilty to blackmail as well as assault occasioning actual bodily harm and having a mobile phone at HMP Eastwood Park.
Judge Martin Picton jailed Sage for four years, six months, and Coleman for 30 months. He told them: "I sentence you on the basis money was owed by the victim. You were seeking to enforce legitimate debt by using illegitimate means." Both were handed five-year restraining orders to have no contact with their victim.
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Fiona Elder, prosecuting, said events centred on June 4 and 11 last year. She told Bristol Crown Court the defendants visited the woman's Bristol home on June 4, Sage armed with a loaded crossbow.
Miss Elder told the court on Friday (June 2): "There was a demand for money from both. Mr Sage was described as 'nasty and aggressive'. She gave him a bank card and her P.I.N.
"The card was stopped. She was petrified."
The court heard Sage told her: "My Mrs will deal with you. I'll shoot you in the face."
A week later the pair returned to the complainant's home - Sage again with the crossbow - and Coleman assaulted her, causing her a black eye and swollen face, the court heard. After Coleman pulled her to the ground by her hair, Sage kicked her to her side, the court was told.
Later police were called and the pair were arrested. Initially both denied going to the woman's home and Sage claimed he had been "fitted up".
Peter Binder, defending Sage, said his client had a very difficult upbringing in which he had been the victim of extreme violence and lost sight in one eye. Mr Binder said: "He recognises how entirely unacceptable his behaviour was.
"He's deeply regretful. He's simply had enough of leading this lifestyle and spending very significant periods of his time in custody."
Robert Morgan-Jones, defending Coleman, said: "This is her first experience of custody and the criminal justice system. Until this she was of good character.
"The complainant owed her money. She says she was concerned about money owed to her."
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