THESE criminals from across west Wales have been sent to prison in May.
They were jailed for offences including sexual assault, trafficking cocaine, growing cannabis, assaulting his own daughter and arson.
These 20 defendants jailed across the month were sent down for a total of just over 36 years and nine months.
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Here are the round-ups for the cases of the first set of the defendants jailed in May. The second set of defendants can be found here.
Suroj Bk
Suroj Bk, 27, of Llangrannog, was jailed for three-and-a-half years after he broke in to a woman’s home and sexually assaulted her as she slept in her own bed next to her boyfriend.
Bk was found guilty at trial of sexual assault and knowingly trespassing with intent to commit a sexual offence.
The court heard he broke in to a woman’s home in Llangrannog in the early hours of October 7, 2023, as sexually assaulted her as she slept next to her boyfriend.
When the victim realised what was happening, she kicked Bk out of her bed and called the police.
Bk was arrested the next day.
He had argued that he was in the room but did not touch the victim.
His victim was granted a five-year restraining order against him, and Bk must register as a sex offender indefinitely.
Nathan Smith
Nathan Smith, 41, of Salcot Crescent in Croydon, has been jailed after he assaulted his daughter whilst on a work trip for a cryptocurrency event near Tenby.
Smith and his 19-year-old daughter were staying for the weekend at Penally Manor, but on the afternoon of December 17 he overheard his daughter tell a colleague that her dad was annoying her.
He asked her to come to his room for a chat, where he told her “not to disrespect him in front of people he didn’t know”. When she denied that she had, Smith grabbed her and threw her on to the bed.
He grabbed her by the neck, before pulling her up by the chest and then pushing her against a wall. She was able to get away towards the door again, but the defendant grabbed her and dragged her back in to the room. Colleagues outside the room intervened and separated the pair.
The police were called and Smith was arrested.
He pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, but denied a charge of strangulation. These pleas were accepted by the prosecution.
Smith was jailed for 14 months, and his daughter was granted a three-year restraining order against him.
Robert Ward
Robert Ward, 56, of Jury Lane in Haverfordwest, set fire to his home during an hours-long stand-off with police after he was asked by the council to move to a smaller property following the death of his mother.
On October 21, a neighbour called the police at around 4pm after hearing an argument where Ward threatened to take his own life. When officers conducted a welfare check, they found Ward had barricaded himself inside the property and had set up booby traps.
Neighbouring properties were evacuated and the house’s gas and electricity was switched off. At around half past midnight, officers entered the property.
A fire had been started inside the house, and Ward threw an unidentified substance over two officers who went after him.
He was arrested in the loft of the property and was taken to Morriston Hospital to treat his “significant burns”, whilst firefighters put out the blaze within 15 minutes.
The court heard that £4,819.15 of damage was caused to the property.
He pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered, affray, and two counts of assaulting emergency workers.
Ward was sentenced to a total of three years and four months in prison.
Redis Shahini
Albanian national Redis Shahini has been jailed for growing cannabis after his asylum application had been rejected.
Police raided an address on Pantteg in Ystalyfera on April 14, and Shahini was arrested after initially trying to run.
Upstairs, two grow rooms had been set up, with 35 cannabis plants in one room and 31 in the second. The electricity had also been bypassed.
The court heard that the defendant had entered the United Kingdom illegally “a very small boat” after leaving Albania due to “a blood feud”. He had applied for asylum, but that was refused on September 20 last year.
Shahini, 20, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to producing cannabis.
He was sentenced to 12 months in a young offender institute. He will serve half of this sentence before he is released and deported back to Albania.
Kane Watson
Kane Watson broke in to a woman’s home in Pembroke Dock and punched her in the face, before being restrained whilst topless and frothing at the mouth outside a pub.
The woman and her husband heard banging at their door at around 12.20am on March 30. They got out of bed and the defendant was standing outside their bedroom. He told them he was afraid and when asked what he was afraid of he said: ‘Death. I’m afraid of death’.
Watson then stepped forward and punched the woman in the face. Her husband chased him out of the house and she called the police.
The defendant was detained by members of the public outside a pub and was topless and “frothing at the mouth”. He was arrested at 12.46am and taken to Withybush Hospital, where he admitted he had taken LSD.
The court heard that Watson was subject to a suspended sentence order at the time.
Watson, 24, of Long Mains in Monkton, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Judge Huw Rees sentenced Watson to a total of 14 months in prison and granted the victim a five-year restraining order.
Anne Walters
Drug trafficker Anne Walters, 41, of Maesamlwg in Tregaron, stashed almost 60 grams of cocaine in her bra when she was stopped by police.
Walters was stopped on March 28 after police received reports that her Citroen C1 was travelling on the A487 and Heol-Y-Bont near Aberystwyth.
When put in the police car, she “behaved increasingly nervous”, before telling officers “It’s in my bra. It’s not even mine”.
Walters handed over a bag containing 59.7 grams of cocaine, which the court heard had a street value of between £2,995 and £7,485.
Further investigations found ANPR cameras showed Walters’ car had made four other trips between Tregaron and Llandudno in March – which could have seen her carry between £14,000 and £36,000 worth of cocaine.
Walters told police she had been paid to go to north Wales to pick up cocaine for a friend who she also bought cocaine from.
She pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and being concerned in the supply of cocaine.
Walters was jailed for 16 months, running concurrently for each offence.
Ervis Kerciku
Ervis Kerciku has been jailed after a drugs farm capable of producing cannabis worth £156,000 was uncovered in Pembroke Dock.
Police raided an address on Treowen Road in Pennar on April 10 and 358 cannabis plants were seized across four grow rooms.
These plants could produce between 10 and 30 kilograms of cannabis, the court was told, which could be sold on the street for up to £156,000.
The electricity had also been bypassed at the address.
Kerciku was at the property and was arrested. It was later confirmed by the police that he was wanted by the Home Office after he had previously absconded.
The defendant pleaded guilty to producing cannabis.
Judge Huw Rees jailed Kerciku for 12 months.
Shane Goodridge
Shane Goodridge, 30, of Stephen Street in Milford Haven, attacking two people at Tesco in Pembroke Dock.
Goodridge assaulted a man and a woman at Tesco in Pembroke Dock on May 14. He then assaulted two police officers in Pembroke Dock on that same date.
The defendant pleaded guilty at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on May 16 to two offences of assault by beating and two of assault by beating of an emergency worker.
Goodridge was jailed for a total of 22 weeks and must pay a total of £350 in compensation.
Raj Domnu
Raj Domnu was the leader of a shoplifting gang who took more than £1,800 worth of items from Boots.
Domnu, 27, of Frodingham Road in Scunthorpe stole items worth £1,819 from Boots in Pembroke Dock on April 13 this year.
He admitted shoplifting at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court, and was jailed for 13 weeks.
Domnu was also ordered to pay £1,819.53 compensation, as well as £85 costs and a £154 victim surcharge.
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