A MAN with no fixed address has been jailed after carrying out a drunken damage spree in Haverfordwest, which included smashing a car and breaking the front door window of a woman’s home.

Carl Rago, aged 29, of no fixed abode, appeared before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Monday (Dec 15), where he was sentenced for offences committed on October 22.

The court heard that Rago damaged a white Vauxhall Corsa belonging to Charlie James Morgan, causing £368 worth of damage. He also smashed a window pane in the front door of Sophie Palmer’s home.

Rago denied the damage to the vehicle, but was found guilty in his absence earlier this month. He admitted the second count of criminal damage, for which the court was told he received credit for his guilty plea.

He also pleaded guilty to using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress on the same date. No separate penalty was imposed for that offence.

Magistrates were told the offences were aggravated by the fact that Rago was under the influence of alcohol and subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order at the time.

Sentencing him, the bench imposed a total custodial sentence of eight weeks’ imprisonment, with the terms running concurrently. Rago was also ordered to pay £368 compensation for the damage to the car and £350 compensation for the broken window, along with £650 in prosecution costs.

The magistrates said the offences were so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence could be justified.

Assault left victim with bruising to her elbows

A PEMBROKESHIRE HGV driver has been sentenced after dragging a woman off a sofa by her ankles, causing bruising to her elbows.

Paul Frank returned to his home in Haverfordwest on June 13 to find the woman sitting on his settee.

“He was verbally aggressive, grabbed her by her legs and pulled her off the couch,” Crown Prosecutor Ryan Colamazza told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

“He grabbed her by her ankles, which resulted in bruising to her elbows.”

When interviewed by police, Frank, 56, of St Margarets Close, Haverfordwest, made a full admission to the assault.

Representing himself in court, he told magistrates he had previously asked the woman not to attend his property.

“She’d previously accused me of taking her mobile phone, so I didn’t want her in the house,” he said in mitigation. “But when I came home from work and saw her there, for some reason I just lost it and pulled her off the sofa.”

Frank pleaded guilty to assault by beating and was sentenced to a 12-month Community Order. He must complete 50 hours of unpaid work and pay £85 in court costs along with a £114 surcharge.

Second conviction leads to lengthy ban and community order

A MOTORIST who drove home from the pub believing she had consumed just two glasses of wine was later found to be more than three times the legal drink-driving limit.

Rhiannon Butler, 40, was stopped by police as she drove her Volkswagen Golf along Pembroke Street, Pembroke Dock, on Saturday (Nov 30).

“There was a strong smell of alcohol inside the vehicle and when she was asked about this, she said she was a recovering alcoholic who worked in a pub, which was why she smelt of alcohol,” Crown Prosecutor Ryan Colamazza told Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week.

Butler initially refused to provide a roadside breath sample. When she eventually agreed, the reading showed 125 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35. Further breathalyser tests carried out at the police station later recorded a reading of 109.

Butler, of River View, Stranraer Road, Pennar, pleaded guilty to the drink-driving offence. The court was told this was her second conviction for drink-driving, following a previous court appearance in 2020.

Due to the high reading, magistrates requested a pre-sentence report from the probation service before passing sentence.

“She’d been working that day and had drunk some alcohol when she finished,” the probation officer told the court. “She thought she’d had two glasses of wine, but people were filling up her glass, so she was unsure how much she’d drunk.”

Butler was disqualified from driving for a total of 40 months and given a 12-month community order. She was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days. She must also pay a £114 court surcharge and £85 in costs.