Driver who killed grandad and man who staged 15-hour siege among criminals jailed in April

A driver who knocked down and killed a much-loved great grandfather and a man who staged a 15-hour siege were among criminals locked up in North Wales in April. There was also a defendant who hurled a smoke bomb into a rehab unit.

In other cases a man choked a puppy to death, a driver hit and seriously injured a cyclist and an accomplished fraudster exploited his "gullible" friend over applying for a mortgage.

Judges felt their guidelines left them with no choice but to send these offenders into immediate custody. Here we revisit some of these cases from our region over the last month.

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Tecwyn Woodward

A man headbutted and then choked his partner in a row over shopping. Tecwyn Woodward, 55, pushed the victim to the ground in the attack at her home.

A neighbour later saw her injuries and dragged Woodward outside. The victim managed to pack her belongings and get away.

Woodward, of Cwrt Pinwydd, Leeswood, Flintshire, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and intentionally strangling his victim in the incident in November 2022. A judge at Mold Crown Court jailed him for 25 months.

Luke Roberts

A man who strangled his partner "thought he had killed her". Luke Roberts believed the woman was unfaithful and he hit her on the head with an unopened wine bottle.

He then pushed her against a wall, choking her until she fell unconscious. The victim came round to find herself on a mattress before police, who had been alerted by a neighbour, arrived.

Roberts, 32, of Church Street, Newborough, denied intentional strangulation in the incident in Deiniolen last August but later admitted the offence. He was jailed at Mold Crown Court for 21 months and nine more months for breaching an earlier suspended sentence.

Aled Roberts

A man choked a puppy to death after the novelty of owning the pet wore off. Aled Roberts, 32, of High Street, Tywyn, Gwynedd, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a black collie called Twm, at Pwllheli, by inflicting blunt force trauma and violence including strangulation.

He also pleaded guilty to cruelty between November 2022 and April last year. Jailing him for 18 months Judge Timothy Petts at Caernarfon crown court banned him for life from owning any animal.

The judge told Roberts that after acquiring the puppy "you clearly had no idea how to look after him properly. The novelty had worn off". "You went from neglect to being cruel and violent towards him," Judge Petts added.

Rowland Humphreys

A man rammed a police car during a 100mph chase through Gwynedd. Rowland Humphreys had threatened to take his own life, and officers began to look for him.

When they spotted his white van, he set off across Gwynedd pursued by police at high speeds for five miles. He overtook lines of vehicles and caused others to take evasive action on a busy rural road.

Police eventually deployed a Stinger device. It failed to stop his van but swung wildly from the rear of his van until he voluntarily pulled over before trying to open a petrol can on his lap.

Mark Roberts

A man threw a smoke bomb into a North Wales care home sparking an evacuation. Mark Roberts was "frustrated" he wasn't allowed in to see his "girlfriend" who had been detained there under the Mental Health Act.

Police caught the defendant, who has "ongoing psychosis", nearby. They searched his home and found an axe, a gas mask and a crossbow.

The smoke bomb caused minor damage to the care home in Ruthin in the incident in July 2022. Roberts, 55, claimed he did not know the device would ignite but admitted arson and other charges.

Cameron Jennings-Williams

Armed police were involved in a 15-hour siege with a man after he brandished a scythe and threatened to cut a neighbour's head. Cameron Jennings-Williams said he had a Molotov cocktail and petrol, prompting officers to evacuate buildings and close a road for seven hours.

The 22-year-old had reportedly held his partner "hostage" during the incident involving firearms officers and a police negotiator in Tanygrisiau near Blaenau Ffestiniog last summer. His defence barrister said he had panicked and the incident had been blown out of proportion.

A judge jailed Jennings-Williams for two years for intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance. He received concurrent sentences for possessing a bladed article and threatening a person with a bladed article both in a private place.

Jonathan Duggan

A man used a friend to fraudulently apply for a mortgage to buy a house in Gwynedd. Jonathan Duggan was today branded an "accomplished fraudster" by a judge.

The 42-year-old had "exploited" his friend Andrew Battye to get him to apply for a mortgage totalling £300,000 to purchase the property in Nebo, Mold Crown Court heard.

Duggan, whose address was given as NHS Occupational Health Centre, Nithbank, Dumfries, Scotland, admitted fraud by false representation and was jailed for 27 months.

Dale Hilton

A "beloved" great grandfather was killed by a driver four times over the drug drive limit. Dale Hilton's car collided with George Stevenson who waited hours for an ambulance.

A judge condemned Hilton for the "thoroughly avoidable" death but said it couldn't be known if the three-hour wait for an ambulance also played a part in the tragedy. Hilton was jailed for four years for causing death by careless driving while under the influence of a controlled drug.

The 42-year-old, of Heol Kenyon, Johnstown, Wrexham, was said to have struggled with the Covid-19 lockdown and turned to cocaine. He rang Mr Stevenson's wife and brought her to the scene, Mold Crown Court heard.

Dominic Patchett

A 26-year-old Gwynedd man was jailed for violent domestic abuse towards his partner during their 12-month relationship. Dominic Patchett, of South Road, Caernarfon, intentionally strangled and viciously assaulted the victim while fuelled with alcohol and drugs.

North Wales Police has praised his partner for having the courage to report what was happening. The force said she suffered “shocking and horrific abuse” which had a lasting impact on her.

Patchett was sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court to two years and three months in prison after being convicted of strangulation and assault causing actual bodily harm. He was also given a ten-year restraining order to protect the victim.

Joe Oldfield

A drunk man chopped a neighbour's hedge with a knife and threatened her but apologised. Joe Oldfield had also wrongly accused a Wetherspoons worker in Wrexham of making a racial slur about him on another occasion.

The 35-year-old had been drinking on both occasions and could hardly remember anything about them, Caernarfon Crown Court heard.

Oldfield, of Bryn Hedd, Southsea, Wrexham, was jailed for a year for threatening a person with a knife in a public place. He also admitted using threatening words or behaviour in Wetherspoons but there was no separate penalty for that offence.

Nathan Brown

A revving driver hit a cyclist in a late night crash. Nathan Brown had taken his partner's car without permission before colliding with Philip Pike.

Mr Pike sustained fractured ribs and a collarbone in the incident in Prestatyn and died nine months later. His partner and "soulmate" believes the terrible mental and physical toll was partly responsible for his death, although a court heard enquiries about the cause of it are ongoing.

Brown, 26, of Bridge Street, Denbigh, had been driving a Mini on Victoria Road West on May 26 but failed to stop or report the accident. He had no valid licence or insurance.

Gareth Hughes

Peter Hughes

Two Anglesey brothers carried out a “frenzied and unprovoked” attack on a vulnerable man in his own home. The victim was left with multiple injuries after he was punched, stamped and hit by a thrown TV.

Gareth Hughes and his younger brother Peter Hughes forced their way into the victim’s home in Holyhead on November 4, 2023. The man opened his front door believing a friend was visiting.

Once inside, they began intimidating him, falsely claiming he was planning to assault one of the brothers. They then began violently attacking him, causing him to fear for his life.

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Keenan Phelps

A hit-and-run motorcyclist mounted a kerb and broke a pedestrian's leg in two places because of a vendetta, a judge said today. Judge Niclas Parry at Mold Crown Court jailed Keenan Phelps, 25, of Pen y Coed Road, Drury, Buckley, for 18 months.

He also imposed a two-year ban which will start on his release, with an extended test. Phelps was found guilty by magistrates, after a trial, of dangerous driving on February 7 last year on Englefield Avenue, Connah's Quay.

The prosecution said the victim wasn't thought to have been the intended target of the attack. Prosecutor Laura Knightly said it was a "highly dangerous" manoeuvre. Judge Parry said Phelps had passed a group of men three times and targeted them.

Gillan Gregory

Christopher Clark

John Whyte

A bungling gang whose targets included Wylfa nuclear power station left DNA and tools behind at crime scenes. The four men targeted industrial sites on Anglesey, with faeces, and some of the gang's initials in graffiti, also found.

The crooks, who had come from Manchester to North Wales for their crime spree, told police they had been visiting the island to "explore" or play football. But the judge wryly noted an angle grinder found in their vehicle was not needed for such activities.

He jailed three of the four plotters at Caernarfon Crown Court but noted that a long delay in bringing prosecutions for offences committed in 2019 and 2020 could only partly be explained by Covid-19 restrictions at that time. Prosecutor James Coutts told how the defendants all admitted conspiracy to burgle three business premises - Orthios Eco Park in Holyhead, Wylfa power station in Cemaes Bay and the former Welsh Country Foods abattoir site in Gaerwen between August 3, 2019 and February 16, 2020.

Kieron Pemberton

A prison visitor tried to give an inmate drugs and a phone hidden inside fake Double Decker chocolate bars. A prison guard suspected Kieron Pemberton had hidden the items in his crotch area and alerted colleagues.

Staff at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham watched CCTV footage of the 39-year-old's visit and he was caught trying to pass on the haul. He admitted conveying cocaine, ketamine, a phone and five SIM cards into a prison.

A judge at Mold Crown Court jailed him for 16 months. Prosecutor Catherine Elvin said Pemberton visited an inmate in the jail on December 3, 2022.

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