Wanted man on the run over 'corrosive substance' attack contacts police from Greece and says he won't be back

A suspect wanted for allegedly throwing bleach into a man's face at a Welsh wellness centre is in touch with officers from Greece but refuses to return to the UK, a court has heard. Dean Mayze is currently being sought by police after he failed to turn up at court to face a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent.

Mayze's long-term partner, Jemma Webb, appeared at Swansea Crown Court charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice after claiming she was the one who threw the liquid and claiming her boyfriend was still in the UK. A judge said the 38-year-old had made a "determined effort to frustrate the police and save her partner" with the untruths she told. As part of her sentence Webb has been banned from travelling abroad for the next 12 months after the court heard she has made numerous trips to continental Europe while her partner has been at large.

Georgia Donohue, prosecuting, said the background to Webb's offending was an incident at the wellness centre she and her partner Dean Mayze ran in Abercrave in the upper Swansea Valley on December 10, 2022. She said on that day Mayze is alleged to have thrown a liquid into the face of a man called Keifer Price who was renting a room at the retreat during an argument between the two. She said the liquid went into the eyes, nose and mouth of Mr Price who immediately felt pain and went into one of the showers at the centre to wash it off. The court heard Webb spoke to Mr Price and said the liquid was just something they kept "as a deterrent for criminals" and was nothing bad, and said his eyesight would be fine in a couple of hours. The court heard the victim subsequently went to hospital where medics found he had suffered chemical injuries to both eyes from a "very strong alkaline" solution possibly bleach and he underwent intensive treatment which saved his eyesight.

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The court heard the incident was reported to police on December 11 and on December 13 officers went to Mayze's home to arrest him but he was not present. The prosecutor said Mayze contacted the police and said he knew he was wanted and would attend a police station on his own terms - however he failed to turn up and subsequently fled the country. She said following the incident Mayze travelled to Disneyland in France and then went to "various countries across Europe".

The court heard that on January 23, 2023, Webb walked into Brecon police station and told officers she was responsible for the injuries Mr Price suffered, saying she initially thought he was an intruder at the centre. She also told police that she could not let her partner take the blame for what she had done, and said he was at home looking after their children. The court heard that the same day she made her statement to the police Mayze's credit card was being used in shops in Greece . Ms Donohue said police asked Webb for CCTV and video doorbell footage from the wellness centre but she refused to hand it over and refused to co-operate with the investigation into the assault.

The court heard that after speaking to the police Webb made multiple trips to Europe to visit her partner and was also in regular phone contact with him. During the text exchanges Mayze told the defendant what to say if police contacted her, and in one reply she told her partner: "I'm a pro in talking to these pr*cks now". The prosecutor said Mayze occasionally emails the officer in charge of the case but "remains outstanding" and has said he won't be coming back to Wales.

Jemma Webb, of Hafan y Coed, Abercrave, Swansea Valley, had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice when she appeared in the dock for sentencing. She has no previous convictions.

Recorder Greg Bull KC said the defendant had made a "determined effort to frustrate the police and save her partner" in her interactions with officers. He said attempting to pervert the course of justice was a serious offence which ordinarily led to a custodial sentence but he was satisfied from everything he had read about Webb that she was "very much under the coercion and control" of Mayze in a "multitude of ways".

With a 20 per cent discount for her guilty plea Webb was sentenced to eight months in prison suspended for 18 months and was ordered to compete a rehabilitation course. She was also banned from leaving the UK for the next 12 months. Recorder Bull told Webb: "Please ensure you stay away from Mr Mayze".

Last month Dean Mayze's brother Robert Mayze was handed a suspended prison sentence after being convicted of witness intimidation in respect of Keifer Price. The court heard Dean Mayze twice turned up at Mr Price's place of work in Resolven in the Neath Valley in February 2023 and filmed the complainant on his phone. On the second occasion Mayze - who was wearing a ski mask - followed Mr Price as he drove along the main A465 road. Mayze's barrister, Cathy Mcculloch, said her client had severed all ties with his sibling, adding: "He wants nothing more to do with his brother and if he could find him he would bring him to court himself." Dean Mayze was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for 18 months and was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work in the community. He was also made the subject of a restraining order prohibiting him from approaching or contacting Mr Price directly or indirectly for a period of three years.

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