A drugged up bully strangled and beat up his girlfriend before throwing a bike at her and her friend. The thug assaulted both of the women as he turned the house upside down in the search for drugs.
Jamie John, 24, attacked his partner of six years at her home in Caerau, Bridgend, in the early hours of February 13 after he had been out to watch the rugby. When he came home at 5am he was extremely intoxicated having drunk alcohol and taken cocaine, Valium, cannabis and speed.
He repeatedly slapped his girlfriend before pulling her hair and strangling her on two occasions before slapping her friend who had come to her aid. He then threw a bike at the two women before fleeing when police arrived.
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A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday heard the victim's friend and young son were spending the night at her home. She had warned the defendant on several occasions not to come back if he was drunk.
Prosecutor Martha Smith-Higgins said at 5am, the victim heard a noise from downstairs and found the kitchen had been trashed with cupboards and doors left open. She saw John who shouted at her, asking "where the drugs were". She told him there weren't any but he accused her of hiding something.
The barrister said: "This defendant then assaulted (the victim), came into the living room and lunged towards her before slapping her repeatedly to both sides of her head. He grabbed her by the throat and pushed her onto the sofa and he then strangled her."
The victim asked him why he was attacking her and John replied "Give it to me and I'll f*** off". She then tried to walk upstairs but he dragged her by her hair from behind and and pushed her head down until her chin was on the steps, and she told him "You're going to kill me".
The victim's friend tried to intervene as John continued to hold his grasp on her before throwing her onto a glass table and strangling her a second time. The friend then started to record the attack on her phone as she pulled John away, but he tried to slap the victim and caught the friend on the face. The victim then headbutted the defendant, and he picked up a bike and threw it at them.
Both of the women locked themselves in a room with the friend's son as John made veiled threats to plant drugs at the house before the police arrived. When officers arrived, the defendant left through a window but the victim told them he was topless and had covered himself in cooking oil so he would be slippery if they tried to catch him. They later found him outside the property fully dressed.
John, of Bethania Street, Maesteg, was arrested and told police he had been on a drug and alcohol binge and had no memory of assaulting his partner or her friend but accepted he caused the injuries. He later pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault by beating and criminal damage. The court heard he was of previous good character.
In mitigation, Adam Sharp said his client was struggling with his emotional wellbeing due to his use of alcohol and drugs and suffered from depression and anxiety. He said the defendant no longer drank alcohol and now only occasionally used cannabis. He also said "reconciliation was on the cards" between John and the victim.
Sentencing, Recorder Paul Hobson said: "You treated your partner, the person you professed to love, with utter contempt. You had been together for six years and she knew you could get in a dreadful state and told you not to come back home if you were intoxicated. You ignored that sensible request. This was her home and you were her partner, she should have been safe in her own home and in your company."
John was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months. He was also made subject to a 15 day rehabilitation activity requirement and to carry out the Building Better Relationships programme. To get the latest news from courts across Wales, subscribe to our Crime and Punishment newsletter here.
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