Two liars are sent to prison
TWO liars have been jailed after an innocent man was sentenced to 12 years for a bogus attack.
Jonathan Price spent more than two years of his 12-year jail sentence behind bars after his accuser lied to a court to get him convicted.
TWO liars have been jailed after an innocent man was sentenced to 12 years for a bogus attack.
Jonathan Price spent more than two years of his 12-year jail sentence behind bars after his accuser lied to a court to get him convicted.
Mr Price was jailed at Cardiff Crown Court in November 2013 after a jury found him guilty of wounding Steven Jenkins in the fake attack.
But Jenkins, 36, had lied to the crown court, then to the Court of Appeal and embroiled Lance Jenkins, 46, in a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Steven Jenkins, of Meadow Lane, Porthcawl, had pointed the finger at Mr Price who he claimed attacked him in his own home. A court heard his credibility as a witness was “key” to the case.
Mr Price was found guilty and was handed a 12-year jail sentence at Cardiff Crown Court but then lodged an appeal the following year.
Nicholas Gareth Jones, prosecuting at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court, said his father John Price received a message to contact Lance Jenkins in order to “put the record straight”.
The two defendants met with him where Steven Jenkins said he may have been wrong when he had identified his son as his assailant – but he wanted £10,000 to change his account.
Negotiations began in person and via texts messages and £2,500 was handed over by the Price family and in July 2014, Steven Jenkins instructed a solicitor to prepare a letter retracting his identification. He handed the letter over and received another £2,500.
The Court of Appeal began to hear Mr Price’s appeal on July 23 and messages continued back and forth.
One written by Steven Jenkins said he had been warned he could get 24 months for perjury before demanding another £10,000. The police became involved and Steven Jenkins made a further statement confirming his original accusations but also claiming he had been intimidated by the Price family.
The court heard both defendants had lied in further statements and compounded it by lying at the Court of Appeal, with Steven Jenkins blaming memory loss and post traumatic stress disorder for any discrepancies.
Lies were told about the meetings and who was present, about money, mobile phones and the messages, and the alleged intimidation by the Price family.
Mr Price spent more than two years in jail by the time his convictions were quashed.
“He was in prison for a considerable length of time,” said Mr Jones.
Both defendants admitted conspiracy to pervert course of justice, perverting the course of justice and perjury.
Tracy Lloyd Nesling, defending Steven Jenkins, who has 21 court appearances for 47 offences, including robbery, burglary and violence, said he had suffered with mental health problems for quite some time.
Richard Thomas, defending Lance Jenkins, said he had finally admitted his lies.
“He cannot say why he became involved,” said Mr Thomas.
“He didn’t realise how serious it was but once the police became involved he felt he had no other choice but to lie to the police and to carry it through at the Court of Appeal.”
The Recorder of Cardiff Judge Eleri Rees jailed Steven Jenkins for a total of 42 months after he admitted perjury and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
She told him: “You demonstrated that you were an inveterate liar and a retrial could not be ordered.
“Your main motivation was greed and not fear. It is difficult to think of a more determined effort to undermine the administration of justice and such brazen perjury.”
Lance Jenkins, of Trem y Castell, Coity, Bridgend, was jailed for a total of 30 months for perjury and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.