Four jailed over their roles in the kidnap of man found covered in blood in field

He suffered life-changing injuries in incident described as ‘vicious’ and ‘callous’ by judge

FOUR men were jailed yesterday for the roles they played in an incident involving a man who was beaten, stabbed, bundled into the boot of a car then dumped in a field near Broughshane.

The victim, who was abandoned wearing only his boxer shorts, was discovered by binmen and suffered permanent and life-changing injuries.

The four appeared at Belfast Crown Court with the total sentences amounting to 17 years and 10 months.

As he imposed the terms, Judge Gordon Kerr KC said the October 2021 incident “displayed a degree of viciousness and callousness which fortunately is rarely seen”.

Mark Bradshaw (53) from Skye Park in Ballymena; Glenn Allen Sheridan (45) from Florence Walk in Belfast, and 41-year-old David Philip Cherry, whose address was given as HMP Maghaberry, all admitted a charge of kidnapping the injured party.

Cherry also admitted causing the victim grievous bodily harm, whilst 41-year-old Sean Davies, from Queen’s Park in Saintfield, pleaded guilty to a charge of arson.

Bradshaw was handed a sentence of five years and seven months, Cherry was sentenced to five years and two months, Sheridan had four years and nine months imposed whilst Davies was sentenced to two years and four months.

All the sentences were divided equally between prison and licence.

A fifth co-accused, David ‘Dee’ Coleman, is to be sentenced for his role next month.

All the charges arise from an incident on October 11, 2021, which started at Coleman’s house at Fountain Place in Ballymena.

The victim was phoned just after midnight by Cherry who told him to come to Coleman’s flat to bag cocaine which would help to clear a drugs debt he had.

He drove from his home in Comber to Ballymena and when he arrived, both Coleman and Cherry were present. He bagged cocaine for around two hours and after this, Cherry asked for his phone which he handed over.

The victim was then repeatedly punched in the face by Coleman in the kitchen and struck once by Cherry and at this point he recalled bleeding from his mouth and Coleman laughing during the assault.

Coleman accused the victim of stealing customers’ phone numbers and he was ordered to clean up his own blood, which he did with his T-shirt.

Three other men then arrived, two of whom were Sheridan and Davies, who were described as ‘associates and delivery drivers’ for Coleman.

Coleman then took a large knife from a knife block in the kitchen, heated it on the cooker and stabbed the victim in the chest before putting it in his mouth.

Coleman — who was laughing throughout the knife attack — then sliced the blade across the victim’s face several times.

The victim said that whilst he was crying and asking Coleman not to kill him, the other males were laughing.

After ordering the victim to hand over his car keys, Coleman told Sheridan and Davies to search the car and when Sheridan returned to the kitchen he said he had found a black book in the vehicle with customer names in it.

Coleman continued to question the victim whilst punching him in the face and head and kicking him in the stomach. then called Bradshaw at around 4.15am and asked him ‘where do I get rid of somebody?’

As he continued accusing the victim of stealing customers, Coleman ordered him to strip and told him he was leaving in a car.

Bradshaw then arrived and whilst Sheridan was armed with the knife used by Coleman and a hatchet, the victim was ordered to leave the house and bundled into the boot of Cherry’s BMW by Sheridan.

The court heard the victim was wearing only his boxer shorts and was crying and begging them not to kill him. With Bradshaw giving directions and with Sheridan and Cherry in the car, the victim was then driven away — whilst Davies took the victim’s Volvo which was found burned out on the Doury Road later that morning.

After around 10 minutes, the BMW came to a stop on the Lisnamurrican Road on the outskirts of Broughshane.

Sheridan pulled the crying victim from the car and he was dumped into a field with cows.

The badly injured man recalled waking up and trying to crawl away — and at 8.15am he was spotted covered in blood in the field by two council workers driving past in a bin lorry.

They called an ambulance and administered first aid and were also assisted by the farmer who owned the land and who moved the cows from the field.

The emergency services arrived at around 8.30am and the wounded man was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast and was handed over to the traucoleman

‘My life has become a relentless cycle of pain’

ma team. He was treated for a catalogue of injuries including a stab wound close to his heart, extensive lacerations and fractures to his face, an injury to his brain and a fractured skull.

Judge Kerr described the injuries as “significant and permanent” and ones which have affected all areas of the victim’s life.

In a victim impact statement, the Co Down man said: “On that night I was subjected to a vicious assault that left me with life-changing injuries including severe scarring to my face and irreparable damage to my brain.

“In the wake of this senseless act of violence, my life has become a relentless cycle of pain and uncertainty. Each day is battle against despair.”

In the aftermath of the attack, police launched an investigation and all five defendants were subsequently arrested.

During interviews, they all refused to answer questions — but subsequently pleaded guilty to a range of offences.

Bradshaw — who the Judge said “selected the remote site” where the victim was dumped — has 67 previous convictions. He suffers from a range of health issues and later claimed he acted under pressure due to Coleman’s ‘status.’

Cherry, who punched the victim once and was present throughout the assault, also has a criminal record. Judge Kerr said that whilst on remand, he has “made good use of his time” and has expressed remorse for his involvement.

Davies, who burned out the victim’s car and who was born and raised in Wales before joining the Army, has also expressed remorse for his offending and is taking steps to address his issues with drugs.

Sheridan, who both bundled the victim into the BMW, has a record for motoring offences and a domestic assault. At the time of the incident, he was using cocaine. He later expressed concern for the victim and regret for his actions.

After Judge Kerr imposed the sentences, all four men were taken from the dock by prison staff and into custody.