Four Men Jailed For A Total Of 21 Years

23 March 2016, 17:54 | Updated: 23 March 2016, 17:58

Four men have been jailed for a total of 21 years for holding a man against his will in a vehicle in Thetford before he was badly beaten.

Mariusz Winiarski, aged 33 and of Guildford Way in Thetford, was sentenced to a total of eight years in prison for false imprisonment, ABH and producing controlled drugs.

Rafal Schmidla, aged 32 of Ely Way, Thetford was sentenced to a total of six years in prison for ABH and false imprisonment whilst Piotr Suchocki, aged 25 and of Ash Close, Thetford, was sentenced to a total of five years in prison for the same offences.

Daniel Jasinski, aged 27 and of Foxglove Road, Thetford, was sentenced to two years in prison for false imprisonment.

All four men were sentenced at Norwich Crown Court today having been found guilty of the offences in February 2016.

The court heard how, at around 10.30pm on Wednesday 25 February 2015, the male victim was walking along Gloucester Way when Schmidla, Suchocki and Jaskinski, approached in a car.

They stopped and threatened him with violence before driving off with him. Jaskinski was then dropped off at an address in Thetford. The victim continued to be threatened as he was taken to another address where Winiarski got in to the car.

Winiarski, Schmidla and Suchocki then drove the victim to a wooded area near Mundford whilst continually threatening him. Once they got there the victim was pulled out of the car and continually punched and kicked by Schmidla and Winiarski. The victim was then ordered to remove his clothes before being beaten again whilst Schmidla filmed the whole ordeal.

Suchocki took the victim's clothes before all three men got in the car leaving the victim alone, naked and beaten in the woods. They also took his mobile phone and wallet containing his bank and ID cards.

The car returned a short time later and the victim saw some of his possessions dumped on the ground before being told that he had learnt his lesson.

At around 1.35am, the victim was walking with no shoes on and no coat on, near to the A11/A135 junction, when he flagged down two police officers and told them he had been beaten.

DC Lisa Cook said: "I am pleased with today's sentence. The victim in this case has shown great strength in coming forward and giving evidence. His trust in police has ensured that these men have been prosecuted and jailed. Norfolk Constabulary will continue to work with our local communities and partner agencies in order to identify victims and seek prosecution against anyone found breaking the law."