Desperate Leeds thug made threats and £1,000 bribe from prison for ex to drop charges
A desperate thug made repeated threats from prison to kill his ex partner unless she dropped charges against him.
Kaiden Hinds used his cell mate’s phone credit to ring the woman, but when he was later caught, he used a smuggled phone to harass the woman, saying he would burn her house down and even tried to bribe her with £1,000 to not turn up for his trial.
The victim was so terrified she even fabricated an email to the police to say she had been lying about him, as instructed by Hinds.
He was jailed for more than three years at Leeds Crown Court this week.
The 20-year-old appeared in court this week via a video link room at HMP Doncaster.
He arrogantly sat with his feet on the table with his hands on the back of his head, could be seen laughing to himself, got up and walked around the room during the hearing, and eventually sat with his head on the desk.
He was muted at the request of the judge, and could be seen mouthing words towards the camera thereafter.
The court heard that Hinds had started a relationship with the victim while a prisoner. Following his release, she called police in April saying he was controlling and violent towards her.
He was arrested and bailed with conditions not to contact her. He kept away from her for the first few days, but he then got a new mobile phone and began calling her.
Between April 7 and May 12 he called her around 100 times, was threatening and abusive and said he would “make life hell” for her.
He later turned up at a property in east Leeds and threatened to smash his way in. The police were called and he was later arrested.
Hinds was charged and remanded into custody, but it failed to deter him, prosecutor Timothy Jacobs told the court.
He used his cell mate’s phone PIN to ring the victim because his own PIN automatically barred him from dialling her number.
He demanded she retract her statement, and out of fear she did, but the authorities continued with the prosecution.
Hinds then ordered her to email the police telling them she had lied. Again she complied, but still the case continued.
She eventually reported him after he contacted her in July, offering her £1,000 not to turn up for court.
Hinds was then moved to a different cell, but it failed to deter him as he used an illegal mobile phone to call her, threatening to kill her and her family and burn down their homes if she attended court for his trial.
His cell was searched and the phone was found down the side of his bed, along with three wraps of cannabis.
Hinds, of Stocks Hill, Holbeck, eventually admitted stalking, witness intimidation, possession of cannabis and possession of a mobile phone in prison.
He also admitted being in breach of two suspended sentence orders, one for theft of a vehicle and another for handling stolen goods.
Mitigating, Sam Roxborough said that Hinds had ADHD, had a difficult upbringing and was still only young.
He said there was no previous domestic-violence offences on his record, and that he had been in custody for eight months.
The judge, Recorder Ayesha Smart jailed Hinds for a total of 33 months, and activated eight months of his two suspended sentences, making a total of 41 months.
She also gave him a 10-year restraining order to keep him away from his ex partner.