Man jailed for abusing former landlord

The Western Telegraph reports on a jailing of a man who abused his former landlord after an alleged dispute over his eviction process.

Daryl Matthew Stephens, 25, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to using racially aggravated threatening behaviour towards Ali Toyeb Rahman on 18 June when he appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates Court last week.

The court heard that Stephens was a former tenant of Mr Rahman. On the day of the incident, Mr Rahman was buying supplies at the Spice Box store in Haverfordwest when he heard someone “shouting and swearing at him”.

Mr Rahman turned to see Stephens making a racist remark at him and saying he was going to smash his windows.

Prosecutor Abul Hussain told the court: “Mr Rahman felt frightened as a result of the incident and called his son.  He was shaking so much that he could not drive.”

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Rahman said: “I have been left feeling very upset and nervous since the incident. I have worked in Haverfordwest for 17 years and I have never had anything like this before. I have never witnessed such verbal hostility.  His aggression was intense.”

The court was told Stephens was “not a racist” and had uttered the remark when “tempers became frayed” over the eviction process amid claims procedure had not been followed.

Defending Mr Stephens, Jonathan Webb said: “This is just one occasion, in the height of anger, that he said something he regrets and apologises for. It was one utterance, and instantly regretted.”

The probation service told magistrates that Stephens had stated he would probably breach any order imposed by the court, would be unable to complete unpaid work hours, and would not pay any compensation.

Mr Stephens was subsequently sentenced by the court to 15 weeks in custody, as a result of his attitude and the racially aggravated nature of the offence. He was also ordered to pay £300 court costs and a £115 surcharge.