A teenager wielded a 16in machete in a leafy Cardiff neighbourhood. While on bail for burglary and helping steal a car David McCauley was seen with the blade in a pursuit outside a Pontcanna chip shop.
Cardiff Crown Court heard McCauley was just 16 when he committed the earlier offences. Prosecutor Jeff Jones said a family were asleep in their "three-storey, relatively smart property" in Heath on the night of January 25, 2021, when McCauley and accomplices forced entry through a kitchen window.
The burglars stole two sets of car keys as well as a front door key before making off in the family's Vauxhall Corsa. One of the family members called police at 1.25am and the stolen car was spotted by officers at about 2.50am in Western Avenue in Llandaff. "It didn't stop for police," said Mr Jones. "It went through a red light, drove at excessive speed, went through a no-right turn, and crashed in Llandaff village on the cathedral green area, hitting two parked cars."
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All three cars were written off. Shortly after the crash McCauley was arrested having "snuck back in" to the Western Avenue hostel where he had been staying and "pretending not to have left", Mr Jones added.
Having been released on bail McCauley was 18 by the time he was caught with a knife. It was around 9pm on July 13 last year when McCauley was standing outside Wyndham Crescent chippy Rock & Malt and saw two boys cycle past. McCauley – ignoring bail conditions that restricted him from contact with one of the boys – warned him: "What you looking at, smelly c***? I'm going to chef you." The word "chef" is slang for "stab".
The two boys cycled away but McCauley followed on foot while carrying a 16in machete which had a blade of more than 10in. CCTV appeared to show him shouting something. Police attended quickly and saw that McCauley had run into a Pontcanna Co-op store after throwing the machete into the driveway of a house. Mr Jones said the weapon resembled the curved "kukri" well-known for its use by Gurkhas.
McCauley, of Plasturton Avenue in Pontcanna, pleaded guilty to possessing a weapon in public, burglary, and aggravated vehicle-taking. The 18-year-old, who wore a shirt and tie in the dock, has one previous conviction for cannabis possession.
Marian Lewis, mitigating, said her client admitted aggravated vehicle-taking on the basis that he was one of the passengers. She pointed out that the case had been delayed in coming to court and that McCauley had already spent seven months on remand in custody after the Pontcanna incident. The barrister said his young age should also be taken into account.
The judge, Recorder Neil Owen-Casey, said the probation report had found that McCauley posed a "medium risk" to the public but that he could be "managed in the community". He added that the teenager's "very unfortunate" family history had to be considered.
Two of McCauley's friends who sat in the public gallery received a telling-off from Recorder Owen-Casey. The judge had said that McCauley needed to work on his "thinking skills" which prompted giggles from the two youngsters. They stopped smiling when the judge said: "I'm not sure if your friends in the back find this particularly funny... These are serious offences." McCauley shook his head.
Recorder Owen-Casey believed McCauley had expressed "genuine remorse" in a letter to the court. He said that the probation service could help McCauley deal with issues including drug abuse and that it would not be just to impose immediate jail time after the teenager had already spent seven months in custody.
The judge handed McCauley a prison term of 15 and a half months suspended for two years. He also imposed 20 rehabilitation activity days, a 12-month driving ban, and a £41 victim services surcharge. There was no compensation order for the damage to the cars.
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