Crime
Cambridge man jailed for 2020 threats to Ely woman
A man who threatened an Ely woman and squirted ammonia at a neighbour who tried to stop him, has been jailed.
But a second man involved in the attack failed to show up at court and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Both men had parked outside the victim’s house and threatened to burn it to the ground, a court was told.
Joseph Lyon and David Adupa, both 24, pulled up outside the property in Ely on 24 May 2020.
Joseph Lyon, of Eversden Road, Harlton, Cambridge, pleaded guilty to threatening to damage property, throwing a corrosive liquid and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.
They wound down the window of their car and began threatening the woman outside the property.
Adupa got out and threatened to return later and burn her house to the ground.
The pair claimed this was in response to an issue they had with someone else who lived at the address.
A neighbour came out to try to calm the situation, but Lyon also got out of the car and squirted a liquid, later discovered to be ammonia, from a Lucozade bottle at the man.
He was uninjured but it left a white stain on his t-shirt.
After Adupa and Lyon drove away, the victims called police and provided the car registration. Officers later tracked down the vehicle and arrested Lyon.
Adupa handed himself in at Parkside Police Station two days later.
Lyon, of Eversden Road, Harlton, Cambridge, pleaded guilty to threatening to damage property, throwing a corrosive liquid and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.
He was sentenced at Huntingdon Crown Court on Tuesday (24 January) to three years in prison for these offences and others including blackmail and ABH, after he kicked, punched and threatened a work colleague in another incident.
Adupa, of no known address, also pleaded guilty to threatening to damage property but did not show up at court and bench warrant was issued for his address.
Detective Constable Richard Rose, who investigated, said: “This was an horrific case where a woman was threatened and a man was covered in a noxious substance simply for trying to keep the peace
“No one should be made to feel scared or intimidated while going about their daily business.
“I hope Lyon now reflects on his behaviour and the victims can feel some measure of comfort from the result.”
Joseph Lyon, of Eversden Road, Harlton, Cambridge, pleaded guilty to threatening to damage property, throwing a corrosive liquid and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.
