Alexander Campbell and Jonathan Garland admitted sending a menacing message after claiming they knew people in jail who could kill James Kershaw

A COURT has heard how two men left a threatening voice message in which they claimed they knew people in prison who could kill a man’s son.

Alexander Campbell and Jonathan Garland made the call to Robert Kershaw in the early hours of December 21, 2024.

Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court heard that the pair told Mr Kershaw they knew which prison his son, James, was in and claimed they had contacts who could arrange for him to be killed.

In the voice message, which was played to the court, the men could be heard saying: “Are you a paedophile, Mr Kershaw?

“I know exactly who your son is. I know everything.

“Are you crying? I know people in jail who will kill your son. I know exactly which prison he’s in. He’s going to get killed.”

Crown prosecutor Sian Vaughan said Mr Kershaw had received two earlier calls that night.

The first came from a withheld number and claimed his son was critically ill in prison. When Mr Kershaw contacted the prison, he was told his son was in good health.

Minutes later, he received another call in which a voice said: “Please help me.”

“He knew it wasn’t his son,” said Ms Vaughan.

“When he received the third call, he recorded it and contacted his son, who recognised the voices as those of the defendants.”

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Kershaw said the incident had caused him “extreme anxiety”.

“While these people are at large, I don’t feel safe in my own home,” he said.

Campbell, 30, who is currently serving a custodial sentence for assaulting a woman and two police officers, and Garland, 36, of Coombs Road, Milford Haven, both pleaded guilty to sending an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message by a public communication network.

Campbell was represented by Michael Kelleher, who told the court his client had been struggling with alcohol at the time of the offence.

“Both defendants egged each other on, and things were said that would never have been carried out,” he said.

“But he accepts what they said would have caused anxiety, concern and worry.”

Mr Kelleher said Campbell was making progress in tackling his alcohol issues while in custody.

“He has now had time to reflect and he wants to turn his life around when he gets out,” he said.

“He realises alcohol has been a problem throughout his life and he has lost years of his life as a result of his alcohol abuse. He is hoping that, upon release, his sobriety will continue.”

Garland’s solicitor, Tom Lloyd, described his client’s actions as “a moment of madness”.

“This is a man of completely clean character who has never before appeared before a court,” he said.

“Alexander Campbell was far more involved and my client’s level of involvement was considerably less.

“He is remorseful for what took place. This was a moment of madness and he was in a bad place at the time.”

Probation officer Julie Norman told the court that Garland had been under the influence of alcohol when the call was made.

“At the time of this offence, the defendant was associating with the co-defendant and they both made the telephone call while under the influence of alcohol,” she said.

“Since that day, he hasn’t consumed alcohol and he doesn’t use drugs.”

Campbell was sentenced to ten weeks in custody, to run concurrently with his existing prison sentence. He was ordered to pay an £85 contribution towards prosecution costs and a £15 surcharge.

Garland was fined £200 and ordered to pay £85 costs and an £80 surcharge.

A restraining order was imposed on both defendants, preventing them from having any direct or indirect contact with Robert Kershaw.

The order also prevents them from entering the victim’s home address and from entering any data relating directly or indirectly to the victim on any electronic device.

James Kershaw has been released from prison but is now facing new charges including an allegation of rape. He will appear at Swansea Crown Court next month. In addition, he is to appear at the same crown court later this year on separate charges of alleged online sexual activity with a child.

Judge says 75-year-old Stewart Laugharne behaved ‘disgracefully’ as he avoids jail but is ordered to sign sex offenders register

A MILFORD HAVEN pensioner has avoided jail after exposing himself to women on two separate occasions near his home.

Stewart Laugharne, 75, of Dairy Park Grove, Hakin, appeared before Swansea Crown Court on Tuesday, June 30, after pleading guilty to two counts of exposure.

Sian Cutter, prosecuting, told the court the offences took place weeks apart in August 2025.

On the first occasion, Laugharne was seen naked near his home and thrust his hips towards a woman who was walking alone.

On the second occasion, a woman was walking with her baby when Laugharne called out to the child in an apparent attempt to get the mother’s attention. When she looked over, she saw Laugharne naked and again thrusting his hips.

The court heard that children had been present, although it was not believed they had seen Laugharne without his clothes on.

Laugharne had one previous conviction for an unrelated matter dating back more than 40 years, to 1980.

Sarah John, representing him, said Laugharne had lived a law-abiding life for the majority of his years and was capable of leading a “pro-social lifestyle”.

The court heard that Laugharne had endured a difficult childhood after being adopted, had never met his biological mother, and had been physically assaulted by his adoptive mother.

His barrister added that Laugharne now leads a lonely existence, is estranged from his three children, and has no partner.

Judge Paul Thomas KC told Laugharne: “You behaved quite disgracefully.

“On one occasion, you also thrust your hips forward.

“You can only be described as a dirty old man.”

The judge imposed a two-year community order, with Laugharne required to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity. He must also sign the sex offenders register for five years and pay a victim surcharge.

Judge Thomas warned him: “This court is determined that this offending will not occur again.

“It was clearly persistent behaviour on your behalf.

“There will be a different outcome if you were to be so foolish as to repeat it.

“It will not end well for you if you come back to court, Mr Laugharne.”

The case first came before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court in December last year, when Laugharne, then aged 74, denied both charges.

Although the Crown Prosecution Service had indicated the case was suitable to be dealt with by magistrates, Laugharne elected trial by jury and the case was sent to Swansea Crown Court, where he later admitted the offences..

Police say gang used luxury cars, rural meeting points and local distributors to move cocaine into west Wales

EIGHT people have been convicted over what police have described as an industrial-scale conspiracy to supply cocaine into Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.

The convictions follow a major Dyfed-Powys Police investigation into the large-scale movement of Class A drugs into west Wales over a nine-month period.

The case began when officers stopped a DPD courier van on the M4 near Pont Abraham, Carmarthenshire, on August 8, 2025. Inside, police found more than 1.6kg of high-purity cocaine, which the police say has an estimated value of almost £190,000.

Further enquiries uncovered what police say was a complex organised crime network involving upstream suppliers, couriers from outside the Dyfed-Powys area, wholesale customers and local distributors operating in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.

Tommy Lee Jones, aged 33, of Castle Quarry, Monkton, was identified by officers as playing a leading role as the head of the Pembrokeshire gang.

Police said Jones was sourcing multiple kilograms of cocaine on delivery dates from supplier Ahmed Al-Farraji and his associate Adam Noraddin, both from Cardiff.

According to Dyfed-Powys Police, Jones would make regular contact with the suppliers before large cash payments were handed over to Al-Farraji. The drugs were then transported in high-end luxury cars from Bristol and Birmingham to rural locations, including Stepaside, Lamphey, Hundleton and Monkton.

From there, the cocaine was distributed onwards by members of the gang based in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.

Kalum Haines, Leon Haines and Zak Fecci were identified as trusted members of the gang, taking possession of drugs directly from upstream suppliers and acting as distributors in Pembrokeshire.

Ryan Hare carried out the same role in Carmarthenshire and was identified as being responsible for organising the collection and delivery of the drugs seized by police on August 8.

Usman Afsar was found to have played a role in the conspiracy when he drove from Bristol to Pembrokeshire as a courier and met with gang members riding e-bikes in Pembroke.

Detective Sergeant Mark Jones, of Dyfed-Powys Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Team, said: “After a number of months of enquiries, we built a case clearly evidencing that Ahmed Al-Farraji travelled from Cardiff to meet with Tommy Lee Jones in rural locations.

“Upstream supply couriers would also drive from Bristol to Pembrokeshire on these dates and supplied Tommy Lee Jones with large amounts of cocaine.

“These deliveries were then collected by loyal customers of his and distributed throughout two counties.

“We estimate that the total amount of controlled drugs handled by the gang between February and November 2025 was that of large-scale commercial trafficking.”

A proactive police operation was later carried out to arrest the suspects over the course of a week. Warrants were executed by the Serious and Organised Crime Team, alongside Neighbourhood Policing and Prevention Teams, in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Cardiff and Bristol.

The following defendants were charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs:

Tommy Lee Jones, aged 33, of Castle Quarry, Monkton; Ryan Hare, aged 27, of Heol Cae Pownd, Cefneithin; Kalum Haines, aged 22, of Woodland Park, Neyland; Leon Haines, aged 26, of Ashdale Lane, Pembroke; Zack Fecci, aged 20, of Hawkstone Road, Pembroke Dock; Ahmed Al-Farraji, aged 25, of Topaz Street, Cardiff; Usman Afsar, aged 41, of Woodborough Street, Bristol; and Adam Noraddin, aged 25, of Plas Nanthelyg, Cardiff.

All eight appeared at Swansea Crown Court.

Jones, Hare, Kalum Haines, Leon Haines and Fecci admitted their involvement. Al-Farraji, Noraddin and Afsar were found guilty following a six-week trial.

Officer in the case DC Sam Burson said: “These individuals have worked together as an organised criminal gang bringing large amounts of Class A drugs into our towns and villages.

“They have shown an utter disregard to the safety of the communities in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, and contributed with the adverse effect that drugs have on the social and economic wellbeing of the places that we live and work.

“Through detailed and thorough investigative analysis, we have brought charges against and dismantled a group of people who thought they could profit from their criminal activity.

“The strength of evidence against them has, however, resulted with positive outcomes and the conviction of these individuals.”

The defendants will be sentenced at a later date.

Cover image: Computer generated artists’ impression