News

Jail for Monkton man who assaulted and spat at police officer

Published

2 weeks ago

April 28, 2021

A MONKTON man with a lengthy criminal record has been jailed for assaulting an emergency worker and spitting at him twice following a hearing at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (Apr 27).

McAuley Dennis Richard Breen, 25, of Colley Court was jailed for 18 weeks, the magistrates saying that the seriousness of the offences, the defendant’s previous convictions as well as his failure to comply with court orders left them little choice.

The court heard that on Sunday (Apr 25) he was found to be in possession of cannabis, which was seized and ordered to be destroyed. The next day, in Haverfordwest, the court was told, the defendant assaulted PC Paul Boorman which included spitting on him twice.

Breen has been in trouble several times before, most famously six years ago, he threatened to rape a police officer’s wife and “eat his babies”.

At just 18 years of age he committed his first adult offence. A court heard that on August 4, 2014, police attended Upper Frog Street in Tenby, after door staff at the Prince of Wales nightclub reported a group of people acting aggressively. Breen was part of the group. The defendant was restrained, and was shouting some alarming things, the CPS said. “He said ‘I’m going to eat your babies; I’m going to kill you and I’m going to rape your wife.”

A woman who was present at the scene described the defendant as a “disgusting animal”. Breen spat at PC Doble and attempted to bite him on the leg. When PC Doble attempted to handcuff him, Breen dug his fingernails in to the back of the officer’s hand, causing a small cut. For that offence Magistrates sentenced Breen to a 12-month Community Order with supervision, to include 160 hours of unpaid work.

He was also ordered to pay £50 compensation to PC Doble and costs totalling £145.

In 2018 a fracas on the streets of Pembroke cost Breen £200.

He pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with the intention of causing fear of, or provoking violence, when he appeared before magistrates in March of that year.

The court heard that police arrived in Main Street, Pembroke, at 3am on February 4 to find around 20 people in the street, which some involved in fights and confrontations.

Breen, then 21, made threatening comments as he and another man were separated by police office from where they scuffled on the ground.

His solicitor at the time, Mike Kelleher, said his client was making attempts to change his life, had given up cannabis and was in the process of gaining catering qualifications.

On this occasion, Magistrates fined Breen £80 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £30 surcharge.

In 2019, Class A drugs were found on Breen’s person. He pleaded guilty to possession of 4.4 grams of MDMA when he appeared at Haverfordwest magistrates court on Tuesday, January 22, 2019. Magistrates fined Breen £120 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £30 surcharge.

In May 2019 Breen was back in court. He admitted failing to comply with supervision requirements following release from a period of detention and was sentenced Breen to 14 days in prison.

The court heard that Breen, 23, had missed three appointments with the probation service and failed to keep in contact with his supervising officer.

Julie Norman of the probation service said a warrant had been issued for Breen’s arrest after he failed to stay in contact after February 7. She added that he had a previous conviction for failing to comply with a court order.

Breen was released from prison on October 18 after serving a sentence for possession of a bladed article.

By October 2019, Breen, now 23, was back in court again. He had been found guilty in his absence of dishonestly making off without paying a £27.80 fare, after taking a taxi from Haverfordwest to Pembroke on December 27 the previous year. But he missed his trial because he believed he had already admitted leaving a taxi without paying.

Mike Kelleher, defending, said: “Mr Breen had been out in Haverfordwest and was the worse for wear. He had a taxi back to Pembroke and argued with the driver over the fare.

“He went into the garage, came out and there was another argument. He left the scene but there was no doubt who he was.”

“It’s an offence without any great planning. It was spur of the moment stuff while he was intoxicated.

Mr Kelleher added that Breen had not appeared at his trial as he was “firmly of the view that he had already been dealt with for this matter”, and thought the hearing was on a different date.

“He thought that he had already pleaded guilty.”

“He was not denying that this had happened and accepted that he was at fault for it.”

Whist fining him, chairman of the bench said: “I hope you get a job and I hope that this is the last time we see you in court.”

But it was not to be, he is now in prison.

News

Plaid’s Dafydd Llywelyn re-elected as Police and Crime Commissioner

Published

18 hours ago

May 9, 2021

Thomas Sinclair

THE NEW Police and Crime Commissioner for the Dyfed Powys Area has been announced.

Incumbent, Dafydd Llywelyn, of Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales, has been re-elected for a second term.

The election was held Thursday, 06 May 2021, at the same time as the Senedd Cymru elections.

In order to follow all coronavirus regulations, the count for this election was held on Sunday, 09 May 2021.

The announcement was made in Ceredigion, at the Ysgol Bro Teifi, Llandysul.

Dafydd Llywelyn, was first elected as one of the two new Plaid Cymru PCCs during 2016’s election and is the PCC for Dyfed-Powys Police.

The force covers over half the land mass of Wales and during the PCC elections had the highest turnout of all PCC elections at 49%.

Mr Llywelyn is a former Principal Intelligence Analyst and worked within Police Intelligence for many years before, in 2014, moving to Aberystwyth University to lecture on Criminology. His career has provided him with considerable insight into core policing issues as well as an understanding of what the public want from the service. He has pledged to reinvest in CCTV and prevention activities and has refused to appoint a deputy.

Standing against him were three other candidates – Jon Burns (Conservative); Philippa Thompson (Labour) and Glyn Preston (Welsh Liberal Democrats).

The results for Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner’s elections were as follows:

1^st Round

Jon Burns (Conservatives); 69,112

Dafydd Llywelyn (Plaid Cymru); 68208

Philippa Thompson (Labour): 48033

Glyn Preston (Welsh Liberal Democrats) 17649

2^nd Round

Jon Burns: 8209

Dafydd Llywelyn: 26280

This was the third time police and crime commissioner elections have been held. The election was originally due to take place in May 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new PCC term begins on Thursday, May 13, 2021.

Under the terms of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, PCCs must:

secure an efficient and effective police for their area;
appoint the Chief Constable, hold them to account for running the force, and if necessary dismiss them;
set the police and crime objectives for their area through a police and crime plan;
set the force budget and determine the precept;
contribute to the national and international policing capabilities set out by the Home Secretary; and
bring together community safety and criminal justice partners, to make sure local priorities are joined up.

News

Counting underway following police and crime commissioner vote

Published

20 hours ago

May 9, 2021

Thomas Sinclair

COUNTING is under way to find out who will be the four police and crime commissioners (PCCs) in Wales today (Sunday, May 9).

Polls were held on Thursday for South Wales Police, Dyfed-Powys Police, North Wales Police and Gwent Police alongside the Senedd election on Thursday (May 6).

With the exception of the North Wales Commissioner, all the incumbents are running again.

The rules of the election are that unless a candidate gets more than 50% of votes in the first round of counting, then all but the top two candidates are eliminated from the election, and secondary votes on the ballot paper are then counted.

In Pembrokeshire the count is taking place for the Preseli constituency and the West Carmarthenshire and South Pembrokeshire constituency at the County Show Ground.

When will the news Commissioner be sworn in?

The swearing of the oath will also take place today, Sunday (May 9), and the elected Police and Crime Commissioner’s new term in office will start on May 13.

“The Police and Crime Commissioner Elections (Declaration of Acceptance of Office) Order prescribes the form of words that the elected Police and Crime Commissioners will be required to declare before they take office,” said a PCC spokesperson.

“The term of a person elected as a PCC at an ordinary election begins on the seventh (calendar) day after the day of the poll, and ends with the sixth (calendar) day following the subsequent poll.

“The term for incumbent PCCs should cease on May 12, and the newly or re-elected PCC will commence in office on May 13.

What is a Police and Crime Commissioner?

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) were elected In 40 force areas across England and Wales. Every force area is represented by a PCC, except Greater Manchester and London, where PCC responsibilities lie with the Mayor.

The role of the PCCs is to be the voice of the people and hold the police to account. They are responsible for the totality of policing.

PCCs aim to cut crime and deliver an effective and efficient police service within their force area.

PCCs have been elected by the public to hold Chief Constables and the force to account, effectively making the police answerable to the communities they serve.

PCCs ensure community needs are met as effectively as possible, and are improving local relationships through building confidence and restoring trust. They work in partnership across a range of agencies at local and national level to ensure there is a unified approach to preventing and reducing crime.

Who are the candidates?

The incumbent, Dafydd Llywelyn, was elected as one of the two new Plaid Cymru PCCs during 2016’s election and is the PCC for Dyfed-Powys Police.

The force covers over half the land mass of Wales and during the PCC elections had the highest turnout of all PCC elections at 49%.

Hoping to be re-elected, Dafydd is a former Principal Intelligence Analyst and worked within Police Intelligence for many years before, in 2014, moving to Aberystwyth University to lecture on Criminology. His career has provided him with considerable insight into core policing issues as well as an understanding of what the public want from the service. He has pledged to reinvest in CCTV and prevention activities and has refused to appoint a deputy.

Standing against him are three other candidates – Jon Burns (Conservative); Philippa Thompson (Labour) and Glyn Preston (Welsh Liberal Democrats).

Under the terms of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, PCCs must:

secure an efficient and effective police for their area;
appoint the Chief Constable, hold them to account for running the force, and if necessary dismiss them;
set the police and crime objectives for their area through a police and crime plan;
set the force budget and determine the precept;
contribute to the national and international policing capabilities set out by the Home Secretary; and
bring together community safety and criminal justice partners, to make sure local priorities are joined up.

How the voting works

If there are more than two candidates, the Police and Crime Commissioner is elected under the supplementary vote system:

A voter can vote for a first and second choice candidate they want to elect.
If a candidate obtains more than 50% of the first choice votes, they will be declared elected.
If no candidate obtains more than 50% of the first choice votes, all candidates except for those in first and second place are eliminated.
The ballot papers showing a first preference for one of the eliminated candidates are checked for their second preference.
Any second preference votes for the remaining two candidates are then added to their first preference votes and the candidate with the most votes is elected.

News

Multiple RNLI lifeboats launched to aid yacht in distress

Published

22 hours ago

May 9, 2021

Thomas Sinclair

THE NEW QUAY RNLI lifeboat has rescued a stricken yacht, with the casualty evacuated by helicopter.

On Saturday (May 8) New Quay lifeboat ‘The Frank and Lena Clifford of Stourbridge’, was paged at 9.06am by HM Coastguard to search for a yacht in difficulty 10 miles west of Aberystwyth with two persons on board.

The Mersey class lifeboat launched at 9.20am with seven volunteer crew members on board to search for the 9m vessel, which had travelled up from Pembrokeshire, in a moderate south-westerly wind.

The yacht, on passage from Fishguard to Aberystwyth, was experiencing mechanical and communications problems, and had failed to berth in Aberystwyth marina due to the tide. The severely fatigued crew had raised the alarm by mobile phone when they realised they were in trouble, struggling with the winds and poor visibility.

Daniel Potter, New Quay RNLI Coxswain said, “We proceeded to the position given but on arrival another position was given 10 miles further north, and then again 5 miles north east. We searched for over an hour for the vessel as they had become lost in the deteriorating weather conditions. Barmouth lifeboat was also requested to launch but stood down as we located the vessel.

“When we located them, we had to act quickly as we found her close to shore and in danger of going aground on the reef near Tywyn. I had one opportunity and we took it, we set up a tow and pulled her into deeper water.

“We then requested to launch Aberdyfi’s lifeboat to assist us with getting crew on board as we had concerns over the health and wellbeing of the stricken vessel’s crew. Two volunteer crew from Aberdyfi and one from New Quay boarded the yacht. They assessed the casualty and it was decided as a matter of urgency to evacuate one of them. We requested an immediate helicopter evacuation, and HM Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 936 arrived and transferred the casualty to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd.

“It was quite an ordeal for the yacht, but it wasn’t over as we had to get the last of the crew members and the boat to safety. Aberdyfi lifeboat then transferred another one of our crew onto the yacht when they took theirs off and returned to station, and we began the tow to Aberystwyth.

“On approach to Aberystwyth we requested assistance from Aberystwyth lifeboat who launched and met us outside the harbour to transfer the tow into the marina, and to deliver us much needed supplies, fish and chips!

“We then headed home and returned to New Quay by 6pm, nine hours after launching. It was a very long day in difficult conditions. However, it was a fantastic effort by everyone, and we want to say a big thank you to all lifeboats and crew involved, and the helicopter. It was an amazing team effort by all.”

Roger Couch, New Quay RNLI Operations Manager added, “We would like to give our thanks to all the lifeboat stations involved. It was a great joint endeavour by Cardigan Bay lifeboat stations. The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea and our volunteer crew are on call 24/7. Remember if you find yourself or see anyone else in trouble at sea or on the coast call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.”