A father-of-four was found in possession of a baseball bat with rusty with nails in it when police traced him while investigating an alleged burglary. Despite being on bail he went on to make an abusive comment and drove a car while disqualified.
Johnny Myers, 23, was first arrested on August 3 last year in Cardiff after the police were called to reports of a burglary. They attended his grandmother's house in Rumney and obtained a description.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday heard the defendant was seen in Cae Glas Road hiding between the door of a white vehicle and the kerb. When he saw the police he was seen kicking what appeared to be a black bar away and got into the car. When examined the bar was a black baseball bat with nails coming out of it. Myers was arrested and searched resulting in the discovery of a small amount of cannabis.
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The defendant was next arrested on December 23 after he shouted at a woman: "Go and die you prostitute." The police were called and Myers was arrested. His speech was slurred, his breath smelt of liquor, and his pupils were dilated which led police to believe he was drunk or under the influence of drugs.
The final incident took place on April 1 at 3.15pm when police saw a black Peugeot 308 being driven in an erratic manner by Myers in Abergele Road. He was followed to Trowbridge Road when police illuminated their blue lights. The defendant was then seen swapping seats with a woman passenger and ran away from the scene. He handed himself into a police station later that day.
Myers, of Greenway Road, later pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon, possession of a Class B drug, a section five public order offence, and driving while disqualified and without insurance. The court heard he had four previous convictions and was in breach of a suspended sentence for dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen and had breached a curfew after cutting off his tag.
In mitigation Ross McQuillan-Johnson said his client was plagued by drug abuse which "lay at the heart of his offending behaviour". His drug and alcohol dependency started following the death of his grandfather from Covid-19-related issues and had racked up a £1,000 drug debt. The defendant was said to be a father of four children and "wanted to be a good father".
Judge Paul Hobson said he had no option but to give Myers an immediate custodial sentence after he breached previous court orders. The defendant was sentenced to a total of 16 months imprisonment and was disqualified from driving.
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