Company boss fired gun next to terrified employee's head in row over bike

14 February 2024 , 13:17

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Jamie Oakes was jailed for three and a half years after trial (Image: Kent Police / SWNS)

A former company boss has been jailed after he assaulted a member of staff with a pistol and shotgun when he suspected he had stolen from the firm.

In May last year Jamie Oakes accused the employee of theft after several dirt bikes and quad bikes went missing. Instead of alerting police to his suspicions Oakes took it upon himself to interrogate the worker. He and a woman took the man to the back of Oakes’ property in Dartford, Kent, where they are reported to have punched and kicked him.

Things escalated when Oakes, 37, pulled the trigger of a blank firing pistol close to the side of the victim’s face, causing him to suffer a burn injury. He then returned with a shotgun and threatened to shoot the victim if they did not say where the stolen vehicles were before also threatening his family.

The worker managed to escape and the next day two warrants were carried out, one at Oakes’ address in Green Street Green and the second in Hillside Road, Dartford. At Oakes’ address officers found a baseball bat, a large knife, several knuckle dusters, a case for a blank firing pistol, 9mm blank firing bullets, two air rifles and three shotgun cartridges. At the second address police found eight shotgun cartridges hidden in a bread bag inside a wardrobe. They also seized clothing which matched the description of one of the offenders.

Oakes was later charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and two counts of possession of an offensive weapon. He denied the charges but was jailed for three-and-a-half years following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court which concluded on Friday February 2.

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Investigating officer Detective Constable Colin Page said: “This was a violent and frightening incident in which the victim was targeted by people he knew and trusted. Oakes inflicted multiple injuries on the victim and used weapons to intimidate him and scare him. He did not act alone in this incident but he inflicted the most violence on the victim and his sentence is reflective of the seriousness of his offending.”

Charlotte Powell, 34, of Green Street Green Road, Dartford, was charged with assault by beating and actual bodily harm. She was given a two-year conditional discharge.

Antony Clements-Thrower