The cousin of England and Chelsea star Daniel Sturridge has been jailed for five years – after making gun threats to his boss.
Warren Sturridge, 23, and Leon Brown, 27, menaced the terrified victim as they demanded cash, land and copper.
A court heard the duo made the threats to a manager at a farm in the Midlands – where they worked extracting copper to be sold on to metal dealers.
Sturridge, from Castle Bromwich, West Mids., and Brown, from Coleshill, West Mids., were convicted of blackmail by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.
Sentencing them to five years in jail each, Judge Robert Orme said the pair “menaced and threatened” a man who employed them in the copper extracting business in March this year.
He said: “The victim had been frightened by what you were saying.
“I am satisfied these threats involved references to firearms and guns.”
Defending Sturridge, Jas Mann said he had been recruited by Brown.
He said Sturridge had a young daughter, suffered from ADHD and was a partner in a tattoo business.
Defending Brown, Graeme Logan, said no physical violence was used and the victim was not injured.
Sturridge’s cousin Daniel came on as a substitute for England against Ukraine in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley last week.
The striker, who plays for Chelsea, also represented Team GB in the Olympics.
He trained at Aston Villa and Coventry before making his name at Manchester City.
The player is a member of one of Birmingham’s most famous footballing families.
Two of his uncles, Simon and Dean, have also played professionally.
Simon Sturridge made almost 200 appearances for Birmingham City, earning cult status at the club by scoring 38 goals between 1988 and 1993.
His other uncle Dean made his reputation at Derby County and also played for Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
