A man threw a gas bottle and concrete slab through a pensioner's windows and threatened to burn her house down. Richard Thompson fled from the scene but returned later that night and used a wooden fence pole to assault member's of the victim's family who had gone to her aid.
The defendant later told police he believed a man he held responsible for the death of his partner lived at the Port Talbot house. In fact a widow in her 70s lived at the address – and Thompson's partner was very much alive.
Swansea Crown Court heard at around 10.45pm on March 30 this year a 73-year-old woman was in bed in her Sandfields house when she head loud banging noises coming from downstairs. Megan Jones, prosecuting, said the woman went to see what was happening and found a Calor gas canister had been thrown the glass panel of her front door and a concrete slab had been thrown through her living room window. The court heard Thompson was outside the property and shouted: "I've got to light the bomb!" at the woman before running off.
Read more: Woman found dead in property as police treat incident as suspicious
The victim called members of her family who rushed to the address and around an hour later Thompson returned and armed himself with a wooden fence pole which he used to assault two people before running off again. Police searched the area and found him hiding a short distance away. When the 46-year-old defendant was searched he was found to be carrying two cigarette lighters, a rag, and a glass hammer. Read about a robber who verbally abused, pushed, shoved and intimidated his 73-year-old victim for a can of Carling.
The prosecutor said in his subsequent interview Thompson told officers he had consumed cannabis, speed, and Desperados lager and had gone to the house looking for a man he thought was responsible for the death of a former partner. Miss Jones said in fact no such man lived at the address and the woman was not dead.
Richard John Thompson, formerly of Sandy Ridge, Sandfields, Port Talbot, but now of the Ambassador Hotel, The Parade, Neath, admitted affray, criminal damage, making threats to damage property, and two counts of common assault. He has 13 previous convictions for 21 offences including a number of criminal damage matters – one involving him throwing a brick through a window, one involving him smashing windows on a car with a dumbbell, and an incident involving him throwing a fire extinguisher through a window – as well as a public order incident which saw him threatening to kill someone while armed with a sledgehammer.
Hywel Davies, for Thompson, said at the time of the Sandfields incident Thompson had believed his partner – who may have been pregnant, possibly with his child – had taken her own life and he had returned to his emotional crutch of substance misuse. The barrister said his client wanted him to express his remorse and regret for acting in such a "stupid and dangerous" way.
Judge Jeremy Jenkins told Thompson it must have been a terrifying experience for his victim to find a man in an agitated state attacking her house and issuing threats. With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas Thompson was sentenced to total of 24 months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
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