A Catford man kidnapped a pregnant woman, throttled her and punched her in the stomach while he was on an electronic tag, a court heard today (August 19).
 
Emmanuel Okubote, known by the street name 'Sylar', took Colette Brown and her boyfriend Tabare Garcia hostage after his Thamesmead cannabis factory was burgled, it is claimed.
 
He grabbed Miss Brown round the neck and choked her until she passed out after telling her she was going to die, jurors were told.
 
Okubote, 22, also allegedly held a gun to the neck of Mr Garcia, who he believed had stolen drugs and money, and burned him with a lighter while demanding he hand over £40,000.
 
The court heard he told Mr Garcia: "I''m a sick b*****d. I will burn you from your head to your toes.
 
"I will rape your children and make you sit and watch it. You f***ed with the wrong person."
 
Okubote eventually released Miss Brown before going home at 9pm to comply with the conditions of his electronic tag while his associates kept Mr Garcia prisoner, the Old Bailey heard.
 
He then returned to issue more threats to Mr Garcia the following morning, it is claimed.
 
The hostage was released a few hours later when an armed police officer found him being held prisoner in a car by Okubote's accomplice, jurors were told.
  
Prosecutor John Causer told the dispute centred around a flat in Mill Court, Titmuss Avenue, Thamesmead.
 
Miss Brown, whose baby has since been born, had moved out of the flat in late 2013 after falling pregnant.
 
Over the next three months it was turned by Okubote's associate into a 'hydroponics factory' growing cannabis using specialised equipment, it is claimed.
 
On March 15 this year police were called to the flat after a neighbour spotted a ladder leaning next to a window but it had already been cleaned out.

Okubote later arranged to meet Miss Brown in Sydenham and allegedly ordered her into his car, driving her to Waters Road in Catford.

Mr Causer said: "He said he didn't care that she was six-and-a-half months pregnant.
 
"He twice throttled her, telling her she was going to die and "Why don't you die?" 
 
"The second time she passed out from the effects of what he did to her and when she came round he twice punched her in the stomach knowing she was pregnant."

Okubote, of Battersby Road, Catford,  denies two counts of conspiracy to kidnap, two counts of conspiracy to falsely imprison, one count of conspiracy to blackmail and one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The trial continues.