Pembrokeshire defendant accused of abuse towards woman and four-year-old child

A 28-YEAR-OLD Pembrokeshire man has appeared before magistrates charged with subjecting a woman to months of controlling and coercive behaviour, as well as assaulting her and her young child.

Jake Davies, of Stokes Avenue, Haverfordwest, is accused of engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour towards the woman over a period of more than five months. He is also charged with assaulting the woman by beating and with assaulting her four-year-old child.

The Crown alleges that between August 1 and December 1, Davies repeatedly prevented the woman from using social media and from contacting her friends. He is further accused of threatening to kill himself if she left the property.

Davies was arrested on December 14 after allegedly throwing the woman against a bannister inside her home.

“All he was saying, repeatedly, was that he wanted no further action taken against him,” Crown Prosecutor Ryan Colamazza told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

“That was the sole thing he was talking about while he was assaulting her.”

Mr Colamazza said the relationship began to deteriorate in August.

“He’s been very controlling about who she sees and he’s very jealous of her,” he said. “His aggression then turns towards the child – on one occasion he threatened to cut off the child’s fingers.”

Davies appeared before the bench in custody, where he denied all three charges of assaulting the woman and her child, and of engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour.

Despite an application by the Crown Prosecution Service to remand Davies in custody ahead of his Crown Court appearance, magistrates agreed to release him on conditional bail.

The conditions require that Davies lives and sleeps at his home address in Stokes Avenue, Haverfordwest; reports to Haverfordwest police station three times a week; does not enter Milford Haven or the surrounding area; and has no direct or indirect contact with the complainant. He must also comply with a daily electronic curfew between 7:00pm and 7:00am.

Davies is due to appear at Swansea Crown Court on January 16.

Customer admitted becoming ‘violent and unpleasant’ when drinking

A COURT has heard how staff and customers at the Haverfordwest branch of Home Bargains feared for their safety when a customer went on a drunken rampage inside the store.

Staff member Christine Campion became aware of the growing concern on the afternoon of October 23 as Christian Teeley, 22, began hurling drunken abuse at shoppers.

“She heard people shouting ‘Get him out,’ and could see Christian Teeley swearing at random members of the public,” Crown Prosecutor Ryan Colamazza told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

“She asked him to leave the store, but he then started swearing at her and began walking towards her. She was concerned that he was going to be violent.”

Although Teeley did not physically assault the complainant, magistrates were told that his actions caused her to fear immediate violence. As a result, he was charged with common assault, as well as using threatening and abusive words and behaviour. He pleaded guilty to both offences.

During a subsequent police interview, Teeley admitted that he becomes “violent and unpleasant” when under the influence of alcohol.

The court was also told that the incident took place just three months after Teeley had received a conditional discharge for behaving aggressively while drunk towards staff at Withybush General Hospital. The latest offence therefore placed him in breach of that sentence.

Teeley, of Cherry Tree Close, Milford Haven, was sentenced to an 18-month Community Order, during which he must complete 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days. He was also ordered to wear an alcohol monitoring tag.

He must pay a £114 court surcharge and £85 in costs.

A NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD motorist was discovered to be more than twice the legal drink-drive limit after being found asleep at the wheel of his car in Tenby.

Police were called to Tudor Way, Tenby, on the night of Saturday (Nov 30) following reports from a member of the public about the standard of Miller Phillips’ driving. His Ford Focus had been seen mounting the pavement before coming to a standstill.

“He was attempting to start the vehicle, but it wasn’t going anywhere,” Crown Prosecutor Ryan Colamazza told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

A roadside breath test proved positive, and further tests at the police station showed the 19-year-old had 80 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Defence solicitor Mike Kelleher said the consequences of the offence would stay with his client for a long time.

“The decision to drive that night is going to haunt him for a considerable length of time,” he said.

“He was asleep at the wheel when police arrived, and the vehicle had hardly moved at all. But he fully accepts that he drove it that very short distance.”

Phillips, of Hop Gardens Road, Sageston, pleaded guilty to the offence. He was disqualified from driving for 17 months, fined £400, and ordered to pay a £160 surcharge and £85 court costs.