A MERSEYSIDE man who blackmailed a family causing them to flee the country has been jailed.
Dominic Kearns was sent to prison for four-and-a-half years after being convicted of targeting the family of Jason Cullen.
A jury at Liverpool Crown Court unanimously found the 24-year-old guilty of one count of blackmail with menace.
They had heard he had visited the Cullens’ Wirral home claiming the man he was with had a gun.
He demanded £7,000 in cash and the documents for their car. When Jason’s mother Paula refused he threatened to shoot them and burn down their home.
The family were later taken to a safe house before fleeing to Ireland.
Kearns, of Coniston Street, Anfield, claimed he had been at a Liverpool cup game. But he was convicted after documents from Ms Cullen’s car were found at his home.
He was cleared of another blackmail charge over alleged threats he had made in 2007.
