News

Jail for Monkton man who assaulted and spat at police officer

Published

3 years 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

Welsh Lib Dems urge First Minister to return dodgy donation

Published

9 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THIS week in the Senedd, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have urged the First Minister to return the £200,000 donation he received from a company linked to environmental crimes.

Speaking to the Senedd on Wednesday, party leader Jane Dodds MS urged FM Vaughan Gething to return money donated to his campaign by Dauson Environmental, a refuse and recycling business owned by David John Neal.

Mr Neal received a 3-month suspended prison sentence in 2013 for illegally dumping waste at a conservation site on the Gwent levels.

His companies Atlantic Recycling and Neal Soil Suppliers were also prosecuted and given fines and costs of £202,000.

Then in 2017, Mr Neal was given another suspended sentence of 18 weeks, with fines and costs of £230,000 after failing to remove the waste.

The Welsh Lib Dems have called on the FM to return the donation, as part of wider calls for a shift away from the influence of “big money” in Welsh politics.

Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

“This entire episode has casted a dark shadow upon Welsh democracy and has rightfully led to many questioning the integrity of Vaughan Gething’s leadership campaign and the way our democracy works here in Wales.

Unfortunately for many of us this is hardly surprising, as our political system has been broken for quite some time now.

A system that empowers the elite donor class whilst simultaneously shutting out the voice of the voter is a perversion of democracy itself.

This is why our wider goal must be to remove the influence of ‘big money’ from Welsh politics once and for all.

We cannot have another government that prioritises the interests of its financial benefactors over those of the Welsh people.

We need to take a firm stance in rooting out the influence of cash in Welsh politics, for the sake of our communities we must start prioritising their interests and needs instead of having more self-serving politicians.”

News

Council seeking legal advice to address Withyhedge enforcement

Published

9 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Tom Sinclair

PEMBROKESHIRE County Council says it has sought legal advice and is contemplating legal proceedings against Withyhedge Landfill operators RML, in regards to the ongoing odour issues at the site.

The Council intends to ask the Court for an injunction requiring RML to abate the public nuisance odour arising from the landfill. Failure to comply with the injunction would be contempt of court, which carries a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment and unlimited fine.

Following significant work undertaken by RML the Authority is disappointed that the problem has not been resolved and residents continue to be impacted by the odour.

Working in collaboration with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Public Health Wales (PHW), we fully appreciate that the communities affected cannot tolerate this any longer.

NRW announced that the first set of deadlines for the completion of actions to tackle the ongoing odour issues at Withyhedge Landfill have been met, one week on following the issuing of further enforcement action on 18th April.

This will be closely monitored by NRW to ensure the operator complies with all the actions set out in Notice by 14 May.

It was deemed appropriate to wait until the operator had carried out mitigation to comply with the enforcement requirements by NRW prior to considering this additional action.

To that end, on 26th April 2024, the Council served RML with a letter of claim and invited them to give legally binding undertakings to abate the odour nuisance or face legal proceedings. The Council also asked for disclosure of documents relevant to the proceedings, including records of waste brought in or removed from the landfill.

The Council has given RML until 14th May 2024 to respond to its letter of claim. This aligns with the current deadline set by NRW under its enforcement notice.

Pembrokeshire County Council Chief Executive Will Bramble welcomed the move. He said: “We are extremely disappointed that RML has not delivered the necessary action to stop the completely unacceptable smells from the site.

“We fully support the additional enforcement action being taken by NRW and continue to work closely with them to do all in our power to correct the situation.

“Our intention to ask the Court for an injunction requiring RML to stop the odour nuisance arising from the landfill, is another part of our collaborative approach. The smell from Withyhedge is having a major impact on residents and visitors. This situation has gone on too long and it is unacceptable.”

News

Beautiful, funny and lovely: Family pay tribute to Sian Batchelor

Published

12 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE family of a woman has paid tribute to a “beautiful, funny, lovely person.”

Sian Batchelor, aged 32, was found on a beach near Pennar, Pembroke Dock on Tuesday evening, April 30^th, 2024.

Her family has issued a statement to say: ‘We are devastated by our loss. Sian was a beautiful, funny, loving person. We will treasure the good times we had with her.

“We would now like time to grieve and would ask to be given privacy in which to do so.”

The circumstances surrounding Sian’s death are being investigated and police would like to hear from anyone with information, sightings of Sian or contact from Sian, between Thursday April 25 to Tuesday April 30.

Police can be contacted either online at: https://bit.ly/DPPContactOnline, by emailing [email protected], or by calling 101. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired text the non-emergency number on 07811 311 908.

Quote reference: DP-20240430-284