Courts

A TEENAGER alarmed staff and patients at Yeovil District Hospital when he caused a disturbance and lunged at a security guard.

Police were on a routine visit to the accident and emergency department when they saw Michael Templar, who was sat in a wheelchair near the entrance, start to swear and shout abuse.

He was warned about his behaviour but when he continued he was asked to leave and was arrested when he became aggressive.

Templar, 19, of Monmouth Road, Yeovil, pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly on May 1 at Yeovil Hospital when he appeared before South Somerset Magistrates.

Prosecutor Christine Hart said that police officers went to the hospital shortly before midnight and while in the foyer heard the defendant shout abuse.

She continued: "He started to swear and was told to stop as members of the public and hospital staff were present.

"He was then asked to leave and was being assisted to the door by a security officer when he lunged towards him.

"He continued to swear and be aggressive and was unsteady on his feet and unable to focus and the officer could see he was drunk."

Templar was taken to the ground and handcuffed.

The defendant told the magistrates that he had been involved in a motorbike accident a few months ago which had left him in financial difficulties.

He said: "I went out and got drunk and acted stupidly. I was supposed to be meeting a friend outside the hospital but went inside for a glass of water when the incident occurred."

He was fined £150 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

A 37-YEAR-OLD Dorchester alcoholic who repeatedly shoplifted drink had spent 17 nights in custody on remand awaiting sentence, magistrates at Weymouth heard.

Kerry Ann Lavelle had been remanded in custody after breaking a condition of her bail imposed by the police which banned her from going into any shop which sold alcohol.

Lavelle, of London Close, admitted stealing drink and food on her own and with homeless 50-year-old John James Cameron Paton from a number of retail premises.

She had pleaded guilty at an earlier court appearance in April to stealing four bottles of vodka and four cans of beer as well as a packet of sandwiches valued at £76.47 from the Waitrose supermarket in Bridport on January 22.

She admitted that put her in breach of a one-year conditional discharge imposed on January 10 for stealing cider and a sandwich from a Londis store.

Further charges related to thefts from Waitrose on March 5 and 27 and the Spar store in Bridport twice on May 2.

Julian Lawrence, prosecuting, said after being arrested for the January theft Lavelle said she couldn't recall it because she had been drunk at the time.

David Coombe, defending, said: "She wishes the court to know that the time she has been remanded in custody has been quite a lesson for her. It was her first experience of prison and it has been a salutary lesson.

"She admits she has an alcohol problem, goes on binge-drinking sessions and when the money runs out she steals drink from shops. She says she wishes to address this alcohol problem."

While in prison she had undergone a detox and was due to undertake a routine of attending three or four sessions a week to address her drinking.

Magistrates chairman John Young said the bench had taken into account the time Lavelle had just spent in custody when they decided to impose a one-year community order.

This would include supervision and a six-month alcohol treatment requirement.

There would be no order for costs or compensation and the conditional discharge would remain in force until next January.

Paton appeared separately before the court and admitted stealing groceries and alcohol from the East Street Spar store in Bridport on April 24 and wine and cheese on April 25. He also pleaded guilty to stealing a bottle of cider valued at £2.55 from the same store on May 13.

Mr Coombe, defending, said Paton did not want the case adjourned for a community penalty to be considered and wanted to be sent to prison.

However Paton feared that when released he would be again homeless and would relapse into drinking.

The 50-year-old had already taken steps to engage with the problem on his release.

A 28-day sentence was imposed and the days Paton had already spent in prison on remand would be deducted from that.

WHEN staff at a Bridport supermarket realised bottles of spirits were missing from the shelves they studied security camera footage which showed them being taken.

From the footage police identified William Andre Bourbon, 30, of West Allington, stealing four bottles of drink worth £106.36.

Magistrates at Weymouth court heard the drug addict had then sold the bottles at £10 each.

Bourbon admitted shoplifting from the Bridport Waitrose store on April 10.

David Coombe, defending, said that as well as this offence of shoplifting the court was being asked to re-sentence Bourbon for offences from last year for which he had received a community order.

He said Bourbon clearly had an addiction problem and wanted to do something about it. He was currently taking a prescription heroin substitute Subutex.

Bourbon's family had paid for him to go into residential rehabilitation in Luton for 12 weeks and he was due to undergo a detox.

Mr Coombe said Bourbon had done more than half of the unpaid work hours ordered by the court last year.

Chairman John Young told Bourbon: "What makes this more serious is that you have done it before – and that it was while you were under an existing order."

The bench imposed two concurrent sentences of 56 days in prison for the latest shoplifting and for the offences last year, both suspended for a year.

There will be also a two-month 8pm to 6am electronic tag curfew and Bourbon will have to pay £106.36 compensation.

TWO men accused of fraud will have their case heard at Taunton Crown Court.

Peter Firth, 58, of Hardington Moor, Yeovil, and Gerald White, 46, of Thurlocks, Tintinhull, appeared before Yeovil magistrates facing a number of charges.

Firth is charged with participating in a fraudulent business, fraud by false representation, engaging in a consumer credit business without a licence, carrying on a business with intent to defraud creditors or for other fraudulent purpose, and possessing a knife in a public place.

He also faces two charges of possessing a weapon for the discharge of a noxious liquid, gas or electrical incapacitation.

White is charged with engaging in a consumer credit business without a licence and fraudulent trading.

Firth is accused of selling cars to customers but retaining the vehicle documentation and a set of keys, so that the vehicle has to be returned to the seller for an MOT test and so that the vehicle can be recovered by the seller should any dispute between them should occur.

White's fraudulent charge refers to the same activity.

No pleas were entered and both men were granted unconditional bail. Both men were committed to Taunton Crown Court by magistrates.

AN UNEMPLOYED Misterton man who admitted stealing tools has been ordered to do 100 hours of community work.

Alistair Rutter, 23, of Broughtons Drive, was charged with stealing a screwdriver, chainsaws, bolt croppers and padlocks out of a Western Power Distribution truck in Crewkerne in February this year.

He is believed to have committed the crime with others who are unknown to the authorities.

Rutter pleaded guilty to the offence.

Ray Peters, defending, said the defendant was making steps to improve his life.

He said: "He has addressed his problems and is due to move into a new home with his long-term girlfriend. He was down on his luck and he saw an opportunity to make some quick cash and took it.

"He understands he shouldn't have done it but it was in a moment of desperation as he was only on benefits."

Mr Peters said that the defendant acted as the lookout in the heist.

He was given a one-year supervision order and 100 hours of unpaid work.

No court costs were imposed but he was ordered to pay £50 in compensation.

A YEOVIL man accused of growing cannabis plants with an estimated street value of £20,000 has been committed to stand trial at Taunton Crown Court.

David Donovan Lodge, 45, of King Street, had appeared at a previous hearing before South Somerset Magistrates charged with producing an estimated 3.85kg of cannabis at West Coker on December 15. He did not enter a plea.

When Lodge appeared before the court at Yeovil again, committal proceedings were conducted and the case was adjourned for him to appear at a preliminary hearing at the crown court on a date and time to be fixed. Until then Lodge was released on unconditional bail.

A BRIDPORT man who admitted that the theft of a £3.50 bottle of cider put him in breach of two conditional discharges has been given a two-month electronic tag curfew.

Robert John Bull, 24, of Fulbrooks Lane, appeared before the Weymouth court and pleaded guilty to stealing the cider from the Spar store in Bridport on March 21.

Magistrates were told he admitted the offence put him in breach of a conditional discharge imposed in October for a public order offence and one dating from March 14 last year for possession of the drug ketamine.

Bull said he was living off his mother after being jobless for about a year and that she had given him a task of decorating the home to get used to work hours.

He told magistrates that because his case was delayed in being heard he had missed an interview at a Jobcentre and one for a position as a gardener.

The bench decided he would have to keep to an 8pm to 6am curfew and told him to return to court on June 2 to sort out some outstanding fines.

A YEOVIL teenager has been electronically tagged after breaching his bail.

Joseph Arnold, 18, of Larkspur Crescent, was found walking along Westfield Road at around 8.40pm on Wednesday, May 25, by a police officer who recognised him.

His bail condition relating to another case requests him to stay in his home during the evenings and early hours of the morning.

Sam Morton defending said Arnold was craving cigarettes and decided to "risk" and left the house to go to the shops.

Prosecuting, Donna Newton-Smith said: "In the evening a police officer recognised the defendant and was aware that he had bail conditions.

"He said the defendant was under the influence of an intoxicant."

Arnold pleaded guilty to the breach and faced a dressing down by the magistrates for his "poor attitude."

He was ordered to wear an electronic tag and was told if he was to break the conditions of his bail the police would know within minutes.

A YEOVIL man has appeared before a domestic violence court accused of assaulting his partner and her daughter.

Patrick Hugh Bennett, 43, of Constable Close, was charged with assaulting Jayne Roberts causing her actual bodily harm and assaulting Yvonne Roberts by beating during an incident at Yeovil on April 19.

Prosecutor Chris Ansell told South Somerset Magistrates that the defendant allegedly punched Jayne Roberts on a number of occasions and continued with the assault after she had been knocked to the floor. She sustained a black eye, bruising to her chin and a cut to her eyebrow.

Bennett did not enter a plea to either charge and elected to stand trial at Taunton Crown Court.

The magistrates adjourned the case until June 28 for committal proceedings to take place. In the meantime the defendant was bailed on condition he does not contact Jayne Roberts in any way.

A YEOVIL teenager who damaged his mother's car and then smashed a window at her house has had his case adjourned.

Thomas Lee Frazer, 18, of Ilchester Road, appeared before South Somerset Magistrates sitting as a special domestic violence court.

He pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to damaging a car and porch window worth £125 belonging to Melanie Rodber during the incident at Milford Road, Yeovil, on March 22.

The case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared but the court was told that the Probation Service had been unable to prepare the report in time due to staffing problems.

The magistrates adjourned the case again to June 7 and Frazer was given an appointment to see a probation officer. Until his next appearance he was given bail on condition he does not go to Milford Road cul-de-sac.

A CHARD man who had been facing a trial at Taunton Crown Court over an alleged assault on his partner has had the matter against him discharged.

Jamie Michael Boyland, 36, of Stringfellow Crescent, was brought before South Somerset Magistrates from custody.

He was charged that on April 12 at Chard he assaulted Amanda Bowring causing her actual bodily harm.

At a previous court hearing the defendant had elected to stand trial at the crown court. At the latest hearing prosecutor Christine Hart said that the prosecution had reviewed the case and decided to discharge the allegation.

The magistrates endorsed the decision and told Boyland he was free to leave custody immediately.

A MAN has appeared in court in connection with an alleged distraction burglary in Wincanton where a 95-year-old woman was targeted in her home.

Michael Pearson, 39, was brought before South Somerset Magistrates from custody charged that on May 13, jointly with another, he entered an address at The Avenue, Wincanton, with intent to steal.

Pearson, who gave a Bristol address, did not enter a plea to the charge and the magistrates refused to accept jurisdiction for the case, ordering the defendant to be committed to Taunton Crown Court to stand trial.

They adjourned the matter until June 20 and until then remanded the defendant in custody.

A MAN accused of assaulting his partner during an incident at Yeovil denied the offence when he appeared at a domestic violence court.

Dean Shaun Murphy, 46, of Northover Manor Hotel, Ilchester, pleaded not guilty to an allegation that he assaulted Lea Tracie Miller by beating on May 11 when he appeared before South Somerset Magistrates.

A pre-trial review was conducted and a trial date was fixed for Tuesday, August 2.

Until then he was given bail with the conditions that he must not contact Lea Miller and must not go to a specified address in Eastland Road.

A 48-YEAR-OLD will be sentenced later this month for offences of stealing bottles of spirits from supermarkets.

Janice Goodall, of no fixed abode, appeared before the Weymouth court and admitted the theft of drink.

She was accused of stealing eight bottles of spirits valued at £172.16 from Waitrose in Dorchester on April 27 and seven bottles worth £69.65 from the Co-op in Swanage.

Chairman of magistrates Janet Cridland told her that the bench wanted a pre-sentence report prepared to explain why she kept on committing the offence.

Goodall is now due back before the court on June 13.