A man accused of blackmailing a senior has acknowledged that he took money from the victim — but denied that he knew she was being forced to hand over cash under duress.

Giving evidence during his trial yesterday, Janico Burrows, 28, claimed that he met Paulette Godfrey and took cash from her over several days in June 2020 only at the request of his housemate, Jahmeco Blakeney, who told him that Mrs Godfrey owed him $1,200.

Blakeney, 43, has since pleaded guilty to one count of blackmail, while Mr Burrows, facing the same charge, has always maintained his innocence.

Mrs Godfrey had earlier testified that she received a call on June 2, 2020, from an unknown man who insisted that her son owed him money and that she had to pay off the debt.

She told the court the man said that if she failed to do so, he would throw her son’s body in her yard wrapped in a plastic bag.

Out of fear for her son’s safety, the senior said, she agreed to pay the blackmailer $1,200 in three payments over the next three days.

The Crown’s case is based on telephone records, which showed a barrage of calls and text messages among Mr Burrows, Blakeney and Mrs Godfrey between June 2 and June 6, when the money was paid out.

Questioned by defence attorney Marc Daniels, Mr Burrows said that he did not know Blakeney until he moved into his great-aunt’s Southampton home in early 2020. Blakeney, who had been a foster child of Mr Burrows’s great-aunt, was already living there.

Mr Burrows said that he initially kept his distance from Blakeney and that the two men remained in their own rooms, only speaking to each other in passing. The island was under lockdown at the time because of the pandemic.

Mr Burrows said that a friendship did gradually develop, but that the pair still did not socialise.

He said: “After a period of time, because we were staying in the same house, it became more social. We were cool — we had been in the house so long — but we didn’t have a relationship outside the house.”

Mr Burrows confirmed that he first called Mrs Godfrey on June 3 on the instruction of Blakeney, who messaged him her phone number.

He also volunteered to meet Mrs Godfrey later that morning at St Anne’s Church to pick up several hundred dollars in cash — again at the request of Blakeney, who was a friend of Mrs Godfrey’s son and knew her.

Mr Burrows added that he agreed to run the errand because he was aware that Blakeney had mental-health issues and he did not want his sick aunt to get distressed.

He said: “He asked me to go, and so I said I would.”

Mr Burrows said that that meeting, and three others over the next three days, went off without incident.

On each occasion, he met Mrs Godfrey in the church’s parking lot, took the money and then walked home, where he would hand over the cash to Blakeney.

He said that on one morning he did greet Mrs Godfrey with a “good morning”, but usually the pair never spoke.

“She handed me the money, I went back home, gave Jahmeco the money and went back into my room,” he said.

Blakeney was arrested on June 7 after Mrs Godfrey recognised his voice during a telephone conversation. Mr Burrows was arrested several days later.

Asked by Mr Daniels why he readily handed over his mobile phone and password to detectives after his arrest, and also agreed to take part in a police identity parade, Mr Burrows replied firmly: “I didn’t have anything to hide.”

Asked by Mr Daniels if he knew that Blakeney had blackmailed Mrs Godfrey into making payments, Mr Burrows replied: “No, I did not.”

He also insisted that he never agreed to assist Blakeney in obtaining money illegally.

“What happened to Mrs Godfrey wasn’t right, and I’m sorry if I assisted in any way,” he said.

Under cross-examination by prosecutor Daniel Kitson-Walters, Mr Burrows said he could not explain why he did not contact the police as soon as he discovered why Blakeney had been arrested.

He acknowledged that his working hours and salary had been reduced because of the pandemic, but denied the prosecutor’s suggestion that he conspired with Blakeney to blackmail Mrs Godfrey because he was struggling financially.

He also said that Blakeney frequently used his mobile phone.

“He would ask to take my phone, and I didn’t ever see it as an issue,” he said.

The trial, before Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe, resumes tomorrow.

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