Crime
Banned from driving for being twice over the limit
A MOTORIST has appeared before magistrates after being caught driving when he was over twice the drink-drive limit on two separate occasions within three weeks.
Stephen William Mabe, 52, was first stopped on June 23 after police officers received a report of the manner of his driving at Dwrbach, Fishguard.
“He had been seen driving erratically all over the road, he was driving on the wrong side, he nearly drove into bushes and he almost had an accident,” Crown Prosecutor Abigail Jackson told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.
Dyfed-Powys Police then received an additional call from a member of the public who had welfare concerns for the driver.
Mabe was seen sitting in the driver’s seat of his vehicle. A roadside breath test proved positive, while further breath tests carried out at the police station revealed he had 95 mcg of alcohol in his system. The specified legal limit is 35.
On July 9, Mabe was listed to attend Haverfordwest magistrates court for the first hearing for his drink-drive offence. When he failed to surrender to court bail at the appointed time, officers spotted his vehicle, a Kia Sportage, in a car park at Plas y Gamil, Road, Goodwick.
“He was quiet and softly spoken and admitted that he’d been drinking the night before,” said Ms Jackson.
Once again he was conveyed to a police custody suite for further breath tests to be carried out, and these showed he had 94 mcg of alcohol in his system.
Mabe, of Ty Croes, Plas y Gamil, Road, Goodwick pleaded guilty to two charges of drink driving and a third charge of failing to surrender to court bail at the appointed time.
He was legally represented by Fenn Richards who said her client has alcohol dependency problems.
She said that his decline began with the closure of the Laura Ashely store in Haverfordwest, where Mabe had been employed as the store manager for 14 years.
“This had a devastating impact on his mental health,” she said. “Things got worse and led to severe depression, when he began self-medicating with alcohol.”
Ms Richards said that Mabe has recently been referred to the Dyfed Drugs and Alcohol Service and has begun reducing his alcohol intake.
Mabe was disqualified from driving for 36 months. He was sentenced to a 12 month community order during which he must carry out ten rehabilitation activity requirement days. He was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £48 surcharge.
Crime
Police stop car in Pennar as three arrested in drugs investigation
Suspected drug driver report leads to major police response and multiple arrests
DRAMATIC scenes were reported in Pennar on Monday afternoon (Mar 23) after multiple police vehicles were deployed to stop a car.
The incident happened at around 5:00pm near Pennar Court, Pembroke Dock, where officers located a stationary vehicle following reports of a suspected drug driver in the area.
Police attended and pre-emptively stopped the vehicle, also blocking a second car nearby.
Officers carried out searches of both vehicles and discovered suspected controlled substances.
A 32-year-old woman and a 47-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of possessing class A and class B drugs with intent to supply. A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of drug driving and possession of class A and class B drugs with intent to supply.
The 32-year-old woman has been released under investigation, while the 31-year-old man and 47-year-old woman have been released on unconditional bail.
Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed the incident followed reports of a man believed to be driving under the influence in the area earlier that afternoon.
Crime
Sex offender jailed for sending explicit messages to ’14-year-old’ girls
A MAN has been jailed after sending sexual messages on Snapchat to three girls he believed were aged 14.
Ciaran Carmody, aged 21, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court via video link from HM Wrexham prison, where he admitted three offences of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child under 16.
The court heard the messages were sent on three separate occasions to accounts posing as 14-year-old girls, which were in fact part of an undercover police operation.
Prosecutor Nia James said each of the girls made their age clear, but the messages sent by Carmody were sexual in nature.
The offences took place between April 25 and May 5, 2025.
Crime
Nottingham triple killer linked to alleged Pembrokeshire incident involving animal
FRESH details have emerged about Nottingham attacker Valdo Calocane, linking him to a previously reported incident in Pembrokeshire involving alleged violence towards an animal.
Calocane carried out a fatal knife attack in Nottingham in the early hours of Tuesday, June 13, 2023, killing University of Nottingham students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both aged 19, along with 65-year-old Ian Coates. He also attempted to kill three others.
The then 31-year-old was later given a hospital order in January 2024 after admitting three counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, as well as three counts of attempted murder.
It had previously been established that Calocane was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020 and had been detained under mental health legislation on multiple occasions. Reports also indicated he experienced auditory hallucinations, which he said caused him difficulties.
He had been discharged from the care of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in September 2022, less than a year before the killings. That decision was later criticised in a Care Quality Commission report.
Now, an inquiry hearing on Tuesday, March 18 has been told of a possible earlier incident during Calocane’s time in Pembrokeshire.
Evidence presented to the inquiry stated that a former housemate, who lived with Calocane while he was attending Pembrokeshire College, contacted police following the Nottingham attacks. She claimed he had a history of mental health problems dating back several years.
The witness also described an incident involving alleged violence towards an animal, although full details were not disclosed during proceedings.
The inquiry further heard that Calocane’s mother had previously spoken about him being bullied both in Portugal and the UK, where the family lived in what was described as a predominantly white community.
A consultant forensic psychiatrist who assessed Calocane while he was in custody noted unusual behaviour during evaluations, including inappropriate smiling and a refusal to engage with questions about hearing voices.
The inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the Nottingham attacks is ongoing.
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