Crime

Jealous partner set fire to home after nightclub assault

Published

4 months ago

October 7, 2025

A COURT has heard how a Milford Haven woman said she would rather have been “beaten black and blue” than have her home set on fire by her jealous partner.

In a victim impact statement read to Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court, Candice Evans described Christopher Barrett’s actions as “the worst thing I have ever experienced in my life.”

“This was the worst thing he could have done to me,” she said. “I’d rather have been beaten black and blue than have him do this. My home is everything to me, but he destroyed my safe haven.”

The court heard that Barrett and Ms Evans had gone out for a meal before visiting a nightclub in Milford Haven on the night of September 12. When Barrett saw his girlfriend socialising with another man, he became jealous.

“He punched her in the stomach, causing her to double over,” said Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan. “She then hit him back as she was so angry at being assaulted by him in front of other people.”

Ms Evans later told police she was fearful of returning home but was reassured Barrett had been arrested. However, six days later she discovered her kitchen table, blackened by fire, outside her front door.

“I was shocked, as this certainly wasn’t what I was expecting,” she said.

The blaze caused damage to the kitchen ceiling, floor and sofa, along with a number of unopened parcels.

At the time, Barrett was already subject to a two-year community order for assaulting two emergency workers.

Barrett, 54, pleaded guilty to arson and assault by beating. He appeared before magistrates via video link from Swansea Prison, where he has been on remand since last month.

Defending, Michael Kelleher said the incident followed “the worst six months of his life.”

“He was laid off from work, he left his wife, and then he met Ms Evans, who is 20 years younger than him,” he said. “When he saw her with another man, he overreacted. He knows this was his own fault and his life has now fallen apart.”

Mr Kelleher told the court that Barrett had been drinking at Ms Evans’s home on October 18 and accidentally started the fire.

“He lit a cigarette and left it on the table next to some laundry,” he said. “When he realised what he’d done, he went to put it out. When police arrived, he was outside holding the table. There was little or no planning.”

Barrett has been remanded in custody since the offence and is currently on the rehabilitation wing at Swansea Prison.

He was sentenced to 36 weeks in custody and ordered to pay £400 compensation to Ms Evans, along with £187 surcharge and £85 costs. A two-year restraining order was also imposed, prohibiting any contact with the victim.

Crime

Former soldier jailed for stalking police officer over past arrest

Published

2 hours ago

January 28, 2026

Court Reporter

Defendant tracked down officer’s home address and sent threatening messages

A FORMER serviceman has been sent to prison after tracking down and harassing a police officer who had arrested him two years earlier.

Gareth Nicholas, aged 41, from Waunarlwydd in Swansea, targeted the officer by discovering his home address and sending a threatening message via Facebook, Swansea Crown Court heard.

The officer had been part of a police team that executed a Scottish arrest warrant at Nicholas’s home in May 2023. Two years later, in August 2025, the officer received an unexpected friend request on social media, followed shortly afterwards by a message that immediately caused concern.

The message began with the words “I found you” and accused the officer of unlawfully entering Nicholas’s property, assaulting him while he was in his underwear, and “abducting” him. Nicholas also claimed he had identified a pattern of corrupt behaviour within the police and issued a veiled threat, stating: “I will catch you down the Liberty son. Look forward to it,” a reference to Swansea City’s former stadium.

The situation escalated further days later when a handwritten letter was delivered to the officer’s former address. The new occupant contacted the officer to alert him to the letter, which repeated allegations of corruption and suggested the matter could be dropped if the officer assisted in exposing alleged police misconduct.

Nicholas was arrested on September 3 and admitted sending the communications, but denied at the time that his actions amounted to stalking.

In evidence, the officer told the court that while he had faced verbal abuse during his policing career, this incident felt different and deeply personal. He said his family installed CCTV cameras, security lighting and fencing, and put safety plans in place for their children. He added that he feared Nicholas had not let go of his perceived injustice and remained concerned the behaviour could continue.

The court heard Nicholas has a substantial criminal record in Scotland between 2019 and 2024, including convictions for stalking, malicious communications, threatening behaviour, domestic abuse offences and possession of ammunition without a licence.

Sentencing Nicholas, Judge Huw Rees acknowledged the trauma the defendant had experienced during military service, but warned him not to repeat the behaviour.

Nicholas, who appeared unrepresented, pleaded guilty to stalking and was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison, reduced by 20 per cent for his early guilty plea. Having already served time on remand, his release is expected shortly. He was also made subject to a five-year restraining order banning any contact with the officer.

Crime

Drink-driver ran red light and narrowly missed another motorist

Published

4 hours ago

January 28, 2026

Sarah Jane Absalom

A DRINK-driver was seen running a red light, swerving between lanes and narrowly missing another vehicle while being followed by police, a court has heard.

Reuben Kirkman, aged 26, was stopped by officers after being seen driving a Vauxhall Corsa along Iscoed Road, Hendy, on the night of June 21, 2025.

“He was stopped by officers as a result of his standard of driving,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told District Judge Mark Layton, sitting at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week.

“He had a near miss with another vehicle, he had no lights on, he drove through a red light and he was seen swerving between lanes.”

Subsequent blood tests showed Kirkman had 147 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80.

His solicitor, Peter Harper, told the court the offence occurred after Kirkman had spent the day with his football team.

“They ended up in the pub and he consumed some alcohol,” he said. “He planned to leave his vehicle there but failed to find a taxi.

“So he sat in his car for around 30 minutes, drank some water and made the stupid mistake of driving home.”

The court was told Kirkman, of Castle Buildings, Castle Street, Swansea, is a sport science and nutritional science graduate and is currently employed in food supply at Wetherspoons.

After pleading guilty to drink-driving, Kirkman was disqualified from driving for 17 months and fined £430. He was also ordered to pay a £172 court surcharge and £85 in costs.

Crime

Pembroke Dock woman fined after drunken abuse in town centre shop

Published

4 hours ago

January 28, 2026

Sarah-Jane Absalom

A PEMBROKE DOCK woman has been fined after hurling drunken abuse at shoppers when she entered a town centre store in a highly intoxicated state, a court has heard.

Karen Rees, aged 52, entered a store in Dimond Street, Pembroke Dock, just after 10.00am on January 6.

“She was heavily intoxicated, shouting and swearing and pushing cans off the counter,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told District Judge Mark Layton, sitting at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week.

“But she was also having difficulty getting her words out as a result of the level of her intoxication.”

Rees, of Kavanagh Court, Pembroke Dock, pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly in a public place.

She was fined £80 and ordered to pay £85 in court costs and a £32 surcharge.