Crime

Court orders destruction of illegal fighting dog after owner fined

Published

2 weeks ago

September 4, 2024

A HAVERFORDWEST man has appeared before magistrates after being found to be in possession of a prohibited fighting dog.

On April 3, officers attended a property in Haverfordwest, following concerns that an XL Bully was being kept there, which is a breed prohibited under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

There they discovered Leon Jones, 26, together with a dog which they suspected of being an XL Bully. The dog was removed from the premises for a formal examination to be carried out, and this concluded that it was indeed a fighting dog and an XL Bully.

This week Crown Prosecutor Abigail Jackson told Haverfordwest magistrates that in January of this year, the same dog had bitten a young child, which had resulted in an injury. However Ms Jackson gave no details of the extent of the injury, nor its nature.

The Crown made an application for a destruction order to be made for the dog, plus compensation to cover the cost of kennelling since its discovery in April. This totalled £3,825.

However Jones’ solicitor, Katy Hanson, claimed the defendant always ensured that the dog was muzzled when it was taken outside, and was always walked on a lead. She said the defendant had also made an application to register the dog.

“His partner had made the application but there was some confusion,” she said.

“By the time he was notified, the date for registration had passed.”

Jones, of Fleming Crescent, Haverfordwert, pleaded guilty to being in possession of a fighting dog.

After considering the mitigation, magistrates fined Jones £120 and ordered him to pay £200 towards the kennelling costs, £85 prosecution costs and a £48 court surcharge.

Magistrates also ordered a destruction order on the dog, however if it is legally registered within 60 days, the dog will be allowed to survive.

Crime

Disgraced former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards faces sentencing over indecent images

Published

14 hours ago

September 15, 2024

Tom Sinclair

Huw Edwards, the disgraced former BBC newsreader, is set to appear in court on Monday (Sept 16), to learn his fate after admitting to possessing sexual images of children. This marks his first return to court since his admission earlier this year.

Edwards, 63 and from Carmarthenshire, was a prominent figure at the BBC, earning a salary of over £470,000. He was a regular presenter of News at Ten and the face of major national events, including the announcement of Queen Elizabeth II’s death in September 2022. His fall from grace began in April when he resigned from his BBC role, and three months later, he pleaded guilty to having indecent images of children on his phone, sent to him by another man via WhatsApp.

On July 31, Edwards appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, where he was surrounded by a crowd of journalists and photographers. During the hearing, he admitted to possessing 41 indecent images of children. Among these were seven category A images, the most serious type, showing abuse, including penetrative sexual activity. Disturbingly, two of these images depicted a child aged between seven and nine.

The scandal involving Edwards emerged in the summer of 2023 when he was identified as the well-known BBC presenter at the centre of allegations involving payments of over £35,000 to a teenager in return for images. However, the police clarified that the indecent images for which Edwards was charged were not connected to this teenager. The investigation into Edwards began after officers seized a phone during an unrelated probe, which revealed his participation in a WhatsApp conversation where he received the illegal images.

Edwards admitted to three counts of making indecent images of children. The court heard that he received these images from Alex Williams, who was convicted earlier this year of possessing prohibited images of children. The exchanges took place on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021, during which Edwards received a total of 377 sexual images, including the 41 indecent images of children.

In a conversation on 2nd February 2021, Williams asked Edwards whether the images he was sending featured individuals who were too young. Edwards responded by instructing him not to send any underage images. Nonetheless, he continued to receive illegal content, including seven category A images, 12 category B, and 22 category C.

The BBC faced criticism for continuing to pay Edwards a large salary while the criminal investigation was ongoing. The corporation defended its actions, stating that Edwards had not been charged while he was still employed but off air. A BBC spokesperson said, “If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge, he was no longer an employee of the BBC.”

Edwards is now awaiting sentencing as he returns to Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

Crime

Shoplifter stole beer and assaulted woman, court hears

Published

2 days ago

September 14, 2024

Court Reporter

JOHN ASHBY, 37, of Laws Street in Pembroke Dock, has admitted to stealing crates of Stella Artois and assaulting a woman, Llanelli Magistrates’ Court heard.

Ashby faced four charges, including stealing five crates of Stella Artois worth £60 from Tesco Express in Tenby and two more boxes worth £25 from Iceland in Haverfordwest on August 19.

After being released on bail on August 19, he failed to surrender to bail on September 3. He was also charged with assault by beating, accused of attacking a woman in Pembroke Dock on September 4.

Ashby pleaded guilty to all charges on September 6. The case has been adjourned for a pre-sentence report, and he has been granted bail until his sentencing at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on September 24.