A angry brute warned he would "do a Raoul Moat" if he was jailed for strangling his partner and threatening her with scissors during a violent attack.
Robert Strain had been arrested and bailed after the terrifying assault, during which he'd picked his girlfriend up by the neck, thrown her on a bed, held her down by her throat and threatened to kill her while holding a pair of scissors. A court heard that, instead of keeping his head down while police investigated and adhering to his bail, the 34-year-old began harassing the victim in order for her to drop the charges.
Over the space of a month, Strain repeatedly turned up at the woman's home, pinned her against a wall by the throat, paced around inside and outside her property and made abusive calls. Prosecutors said that, on one occasion, the bully also sent the victim a message saying "I will do a Raoul Moat on you if I go to prison."
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The terrified woman went to the police and Strain, of Deepdale Green, in Cowgate, was arrested and charged with harassment, intentional strangulation, assault and threatening a person with an offensive weapon. He initially pleaded not guilty to the offences at a hearing at Newcastle Magistrates' Court in October and he was remanded in custody to face trial this week. However, on the day he was due in the dock, Strain changed his pleas.
Lillian Yanes Hellevik, prosecuting, said Strain and his partner had been drinking at her house on September 16 when an argument broke out at around 2am. "The defendant picked up a pair of scissors and threatened her with them", Miss Yanes Hellevik added.
"He made verbal threats to kill her. He then threw the scissors to the floor. The defendant then lunged at the complainant and put his right hand around her neck, lifted her up off the ground and threw her on the bed. He climbed on top of her and pinned her down by the throat.
"She couldn't breathe properly. He continued making threats towards her. He eventually got off and she stood up but he threw her back down on to the bed."
The court heard that the victim managed to ring the police and Strain was arrested and bailed, with a condition not to contact her. However, Strain ignored the conditions and began a campaign of harassment.
Over a four-week period, the brute repeatedly turned up at the woman's Walker home and asked her to drop the charges, pinned her against a wall, poked her in the face and paced around inside and outside her property.
Ms Yanes Hellevik added: "On October 8, the defendant makes calls and sends messages to the complainant. In some of the messages he wanted money, in others he called her a s*** and, in others, he said she was going to die. On one message he threatened to do a Raoul Moat on her if he went to prison. In the next message, he asked for his hoodie back."
In a statement, the victim said she was "terrified" of Strain, adding: "I felt distressed. I don't understand why he treated me like this when I have done so much for him. I just wanted him to love me like I loved him."
Lewis Pearson, defending, said Strain had stayed out of trouble for more than 10 years and had already served the equivalent of a three-month prison sentence whilst being on remand. Mr Pearson added: "He's got a serious psychiatric flaw. He has these child-like outbursts, which he can't control."
Jailing Strain for 46 weeks, District Judge Paul Currer said: "You got on top of her and strangled her, which would have been exceptionally terrifying. It has now been regarded by the criminal justice system as particularly terrifying because, although it may not leave any lasting physical injury, the victim thinks they're going to die because they can't breathe."
Strain was also ordered to pay £200 compensation and was made subject of a five-year restraining order.
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