Men cleared of blackmail bid
Thursday 23rd November 2006, 7:49PM GMT.
Two men have been cleared of attempting to blackmail a wealthy Telford businessman into giving them £100,000.
But one of them was found guilty of intending to pervert the course of justice. He was given a suspended prison sentence and ordered to carry out unpaid work in the community.
At Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday, 33-year-old Timothy Baker, of Manor Farm Drive, Shifnal, and 40-year-old Leo Dennis, from Birmingham, were cleared of making an unwarranted demand with menaces from Christopher Foster on December 12 last year.
Baker was convicted of intent to pervert the course of justice on January 17.
His wife Rachael Baker, also 33, was cleared yesterday of tending and intending to pervert the course of justice on January 18. Timothy and Rachael Baker are pictured.
Baker was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 100 hours of work in the community.
Mr Foster had alleged Dennis and Baker had been plotting to blackmail him after a land deal in Cyprus fell through.
Dennis and Baker claimed Mr Foster made a false allegation of blackmail to cover up a bid to have Baker assaulted. Mr Foster denies the claims.
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
