Defendant due back in court on Monday ahead of February trial

A PEMBROKE man has appeared in court accused of threatening to kill local newspaper editor Tom Sinclair during a phone call, as well as a separate racially aggravated harassment charge involving a police officer.

Anthony Jones, aged thirty-four, of Castle Quarry, Long Mains, Monkton, was in Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court earlier this week and will return on Monday (Dec 8) for a further mention. His full trial is listed for February.

Jones faces two charges.

Racially aggravated harassment

The first allegation relates to an incident on 8 April 2025 in Pembroke. He is accused of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour towards PC823 Stuart Gray, causing harassment, alarm or distress. Prosecutors say the offence was racially aggravated under section 28 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

Threat to kill during phone call

The second charge alleges that on 24 February 2025, also in Pembroke, Jones made a phone call in which he threatened to kill Mr Sinclair, contrary to section 181 of the Online Safety Act 2023.

Prosecutors say the call conveyed a threat of death and that Jones intended — or was reckless as to whether — the threat would make the recipient fear it would be carried out.

Next steps

Monday’s hearing will be an administrative mention. Jones remains on court bail, and a full trial is scheduled for February 2026.

A LLANDOVERY man has been handed a three-year community order after officers discovered an illegal child-abuse video playing on his mobile phone during a search of his home.

Police executed a warrant at the property of Lawrence Cooper, aged 69, of Lon Rhys Pritchard, on 19 September last year. When officers entered the bedroom, a video involving two underage girls was found playing on his device.

Two phones, two laptops, a hard drive and an SD card were seized. Cooper told officers at the scene that they would find further illegal material on the equipment.

Digital analysis confirmed more than 1,000 indecent images of children stored across his devices. These included Category A, B and C still images and videos, featuring victims aged between two and 16. The court heard that Cooper had also used search terms associated with child-sexual-abuse content and incest.

Cooper answered “no comment” in two police interviews but later admitted three counts of making indecent images of children.

At Swansea Crown Court, Hannah George, defending, said Cooper had no previous convictions and had entered early guilty pleas. She told the court he accepted gaining gratification from the material, despite denying a sexual interest in children, and said he felt “shame” about his actions.

Passing sentence, Judge Paul Hobson said Cooper had been actively seeking out illegal content and was watching such material at the moment officers arrived.

Cooper was made subject to a three-year community order requiring 180 hours of unpaid work and 25 days of rehabilitation activity.

He must also sign the sex-offenders register for five years and comply with a sexual harm prevention order for the same period.

A BARGOED man who used his car workshop as a front for large-scale drug distribution has been jailed for almost ten years — with links to supply routes reaching into West Wales, including Pembrokeshire.

Thirty-seven-year-old Peter Ian Yandell, from Bargoed, was arrested at his business premises on 11 June after officers from Tarian, the Regional Organised Crime Unit for southern Wales, executed a warrant at his Tredegar vehicle workshop. Investigators found that Yandell had been using the business as a cover for the wholesale movement of controlled drugs.

A search of the premises uncovered significant quantities of Class A and Class B drugs, specialist equipment used to manufacture illicit substances, and an imitation firearm.

His mobile phone was seized at the scene. Subsequent analysis uncovered extensive evidence of large-scale supply operations across South Wales, including communication patterns and distribution activity indicative of a wider network reaching beyond the Valleys.

The Herald understands that this network included the movement of cocaine and cannabis into West Wales — including Pembrokeshire — as part of a broader regional supply chain.

Yandell pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, being concerned in the supply of cannabis, and possession of an imitation firearm. He was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court to nine years and ten months for the offences, with a further two months added for breaching a suspended sentence.

Detective Constable Rhys Richards, of Tarian ROCU, said: “This operation dismantled a sophisticated drug production setup that was responsible for supplying harmful substances into communities across the region.

“Yandell attempted to hide his criminal enterprise behind a legitimate business, but the evidence recovered – in particular from his mobile phone – revealed the true extent of his offending.

“This investigation demonstrates Tarian’s continued commitment to exposing and disrupting organised criminality. We will work tirelessly to protect the public and ensure that those who profit from the supply of illicit commodities are brought before the courts.”