Alan King, boxing coach, pleads guilty to making threatening calls. Sentencing delayed for fact-finding.
Alan King, age 64, appeared in court via video. He is a boxing coach known in his community who trains local kids without pay and has been in jail since October 1st.
He initially denied blackmail on October 29th; the charge was making menacing calls. A trial was scheduled for March 19th, but he changed his plea to guilty on February 14th.
King’s lawyer, Tony Davis, presented his basis for the plea, stating King accepts the blackmail allegation fully. The incident was short and driven by misguided loyalty, as he made one threatening call without acting on it, and Davis thinks everyone has calmed down.
Davis mentioned King’s few prior convictions, arguing the current experience serves as a lesson. He also noted King has been in custody for four and a half months, which equals a nine-month sentence, and he is 64 and has health issues, suffering from chronic back pain.
King is very active in his community, having coached boxing for twenty-five years. He volunteers five nights a week and coaches many children.
Judge Tom Mitchell thinks King might have been trying to assist, but his temper may have overwhelmed him. The judge wants King to explain his involvement, stating he wants to hear his intentions.
The judge believes King got involved in blackmail and then lost his cool, speculating it could be just threatening behavior or something far worse. Davis argues it was only the former, saying King tried to mediate but lost his temper, and that it was brief and unplanned, born from frustration.
Prosecutor Nicoleta Alistari said the sentence depends on the accepted basis. Judge Mitchell adjourned the case and scheduled a “Newton hearing” for later in February to determine the facts before sentencing.
The hearing will decide if it was failed mediation, or was it pre-meditated blackmail? The judge wants a quick resolution for everyone involved, and adjourned the hearing until February 21st, meaning King remains in custody until then with his address being Houghton Road, Hetton-le-Hole.