Locked up: The 'barbaric' murderer, policeman who broke his wife's spine and serial car thief jailed in Wales last month

October was another busy month for the courts in Wales with 81 criminals sent to jail for some of the most serious crimes. Here is our monthly round-up of the criminals who have been locked up over the past month.

They include a man who murdered his lifelong friend in the early hours of New Year's Day this year. Ashley Davies knifed Conall Evans through the lung and heart and then sent him a taunting message by text.

There was also the case of a serving police officer who broke his wife's spine when he kicked her down the stairs. He is just one of 13 men on the list who carried out attacks or stalked partners or former partners.

A “violent and dangerous man” who entered a Pembrokeshire home at random and savagely attacked a woman was also jailed for 20 years.

Ashley Davies

The "barbaric" murderer stabbed a lifelong friend to death, knifing him through the lung and heart then texting him a taunting message saying: "Better luck next time". The victim died from a single knife wound to the right side of his chest measuring 12cm.

Davies, 30, was convicted of the murder of Conall Evans, 30, who was found seriously injured near the Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda Hospital car park in Tonypandy in the early hours of New Year's Day this year. Davies, of Forge Road, Pentre, was sentenced at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday after being convicted of murder and possession of a bladed article. The powerful words of murdered man's sister

Huw Orphan

The serving police officer kicked his wife down the stairs of their home during an argument and caused her to suffer a fractured spine. He had assaulted her on an earlier occasion when he pushed her to the floor and she hit her head on a piece of furniture.

Orphan, 32, was a constable with Gwent Police when he first assaulted his wife at their home in Newport in January, 2020. They had married in 2019 but their relationship had deteriorated to the point where they were regularly arguing over trivial matters.

Benjamin Guiver

The “violent and dangerous man” entered a Pembrokeshire home at random and savagely attacked a woman by punching her, banging her head against a radiator, sexually assaulting her, strangling her and telling her that he was going to kill her.

Guiver, 35, entered the property in the Goodwick area on the evening of May 24 this year. He had already entered other properties that evening. His victim was asleep on the sofa inside her house and awoke to find Guiver kneeling by her side. She asked the intruder who he was and he replied “I’m Benjamin”. Read his sentencing here.

Geraint Boyce

The plumber intended to stir up religious hatred after posting "F*** Islam" and "I'm ready for war" on Facebook in the wake of alleged murders in Southport. He also posted a message which stated: "Burn all the mosques down with all the b******* inside".

Boyce, 43, of Tonyrefail, posted a number of disgusting messages on Facebook following the death of three girls in Southport on July 29 and subsequent riots in cities across the UK. The messages were considered to be a "call to action" and were anti-Islam in nature.

Daniel Hatcher

A woman experienced "the stuff of nightmares" after a man barged into her home and tried to forcibly kiss her as her children looked on. He initially claimed he was homeless and wanted pizza and a cup of tea but he went on to sexually assault the victim.

Hatcher, 34, attended a stranger's home in Cardiff last year and a woman answered the door. He claimed he had provided gardening services to the previous tenant and asked if she needed gardening work done but she declined.

Jonathan Price

The drugged-up man who had taken crack cocaine, strangled a police officer and assaulted another after they refused him a cigarette. He also spat at one of the officers and called her a "pig".

Price, 43, was involved in a "disturbance" at a shopping centre in Merthyr Tydfil on August 15 which resulted in the police being called. Two officers attended and spoke to the defendant but it was apparent he was intoxicated.

Michael Owen Williams

Williams was Jailed after racially abusing a woman who was with her children in Caernarfon. Williams, of Dolfor, Pwllheli, appeared at Mold Crown Court after admitting racially aggravated harassment and breaching a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO).

A North Wales Police statement said: "On August 9th, a woman was at Caernarfon bus station with her children when 36-year-old Williams approached her and began racially abusing her unprovoked. He began shouting at her to 'go back where you came from' and telling her 'you don’t belong here', leaving the woman and her children feeling very distressed and upset.

David Martin

The serial car thief was caught on CCTV taking and driving a Ford Transit minibus before stopping to change its number plate. He also stole items from inside a rucksack in the van.

Martin, 40, took the van from a street in Porth, Rhondda, on August 15, with the assistance of another man. The driver of the van had locked the vehicle so entry was forced.

Jack Slater

The young drug dealer was found to be dealing cocaine and cannabis after his mother called the police when she found a package of white powder. His phone was seized and a number of messages with customers asking for drugs was discovered.

Slater, 23, was visited by officers at his home after they were contacted by his mother who was concerned at finding 2kg of white powder in his room. Examination of the powder later revealed it was not an illicit drug but messages on his phone revealed he was dealing drugs.

Callum Jeffs

A woman thought she was going to die after her ex-partner chased her with a kitchen knife and strangled her four times in a horrific attack. She described him "going crazy" and he told her: "I'll never see you again – you'll be dead soon."

Jeffs, 24, of Pontypridd, let himself into his former partner's home at around 9pm on July 9 and immediately began shouting at her and accusing her of sleeping with other men. She was confused but he told her she knew the men were hiding.

Bethan Picton

The former school learning assistant sold drugs to a 15-year-old girl. Picton was caught dealing a range of drugs including cocaine, ecstasy and LSD to customers.

A judge at Swansea Crown Court said Class A drugs ruined lives and ruined families, and she said it was of concern that somebody who had chosen a career working with children would engage in trafficking such substances. The defendant's barrister said his client was "absolutely terrified" at the prospect of going to prison.

Nathan Edwards

He threw tiles and a beer can towards police during a nine-hour rooftop siege. A crowd gathered below with some bystanders recording the incident in Ponciau in Wrexham.

Edwards, 33, shouted to a friend to "get the lads" as it "will all kick off". A police negotiator was called in and Edwards eventually agreed he would come down after getting a cigarette.

Liam Spittle

The cocaine dealer was caught after messages in which he boasted about how much money he was making were found on his ex-partner's phone. The messages came to light after Spittle assaulted his former partner and the police were called.

The defendant's advocate told Swansea Crown Court that the messages in which his client claimed he was being paid thousands of pounds from criminals in Liverpool were "bravado". The court heard it was the second time 33-year-old Spittle had been caught dealing cocaine. Sending him back to prison, a judge told the defendant to stay away from Class A drugs in the future or his sentences would get longer and longer.

Nicky Gould

The jealous man throttled his partner and slammed her head against a window leaving a smear of blood on the glass. Gould should not even have been at the woman's house as he is subject to a restraining order banning contact following a previous assault on her.

Swansea Crown Court heard the 32-year-old defendant had previous convictions for assaulting and harassing a former partner in an assault carried out in front of the woman's children. Gould's advocate said when in drink his client's feelings of "insecurity and paranoia" came to the surface and caused him to behave aggressively and he said his client realised that he would have to address those issues if he was to have a stable relationship with anyone in the future. Read his sentencing here.

Nicholas Walker

The drug dealer travelled all the way from Aberystwyth to Merthyr to buy supplies of heroin and cocaine. While Walker secured his stash his driver took the chance to "look at sofas in Trago Mills".

Walker has 12 previous drug-related offences on his record including three for dealing. The 62-year-old's barrister told Swansea Crown Court his client was part of a "group of long-term drug users" in the seaside town who spent every penny they received on drugs. He called it a "tragic existence".

Michael Morgan

The heroin and cocaine dealer was caught with a stash of drugs hidden in the false bottom of a fire extinguisher in his car. Morgan was caught after an eagle-eyed police officer became suspicious of what a man on a bicycle was doing around his vehicle and decided to follow him.

Swansea Crown Court heard Morgan was found with heroin and cocaine, weapons, and more than £1,200 cash in his car. The court heard it was the fourth time the 52-year-old had been caught dealing Class A drugs and he had previously served three lengthy custodial sentences. Sending him back to prison a judge told him there might come a day when he got tired of prison sentences but until then he said the sentences the defendant received would only get longer in length and harder to serve as he got older.

Shannon Newth

The former soldier raped a young girl and left her in her pain following the sexual attack. His victim said she would "never know what it's like to feel peace".

Newth, 38, also known as Leigh, raped his victim on two occasions when she was under the age of 13. The defendant, from Taff's Well, denied the offences but was found guilty following a trial. Read his sentencing here.

Solomon Rodrigues

The 20-year-old cocaine dealer started his own drugs line just months after getting out of a young offenders institution for previous dealing. Rodrigues was identified by police after being caught on CCTV topping up his dealers phone in a convenience store.

Sending the defendant back into detention a judge told him that despite his young age it seemed he had chosen drug dealing as a career. He told Rodrigues that if he were to continue along that path the sentences he would receive would get ever longer, and he said there might come a day when the defendant found himself a middle aged man wondering where his life had gone.

Benjamin Bevan

He punched and throttled his partner and stamped on her head after flying into a rage when she woke him up from an alcohol and Valium-induced stupor. Bevan then turned on a neighbour of his victim, assaulting him with a pressure washer and sinking his teeth into his arm, leaving the man needing blood tests for possible infections.

Swansea Crown Court heard Bevan had 91 previous offences on his record including unlawful wounding, racially-aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and administering a poison or noxious substance. This last offence saw Bevan throw a bucket full of excrement and urine into a prison officer's face at HMP Parc in Bridgend. Sending the 37-year-old to prison a judge said it was clear he had a "huge amount of work to do" to address the issues in his life.

Mal-aki Adams

The teenage drug dealer hoarded pricey trainers and thousands of pounds in cash. Police even found a samurai sword at then-17-year-old Adams' home after his Class A dealing was exposed.

Prosecutor Charles Archer told Cardiff Crown Court that police spotted a group of men and teenage boys behaving suspiciously on August 3 last year in an alley near Bridgend railway station. The officers correctly suspected that a drug deal was taking place and arrested Adams along with an accomplice. Read his sentence here.

Caden Evans

The Swansea drug dealer was jailed after police raided his home because they found messages on another man’s phone which were traced back him. On September 10 this year officers from South Wales Police had cause to download information from an individual’s phone.

Messages were discovered which were offering drugs for sale, and the number they had been sent from was traced to Evans, of Llwyn Derw, Fforestfach, Swansea. Police investigated and raided Evans’ home.

Jason Beech

A man who tried to intervene between a rowing couple was bitten on the ear. Beech, 53, had been drinking in the St George pub in Swansea on July 12.

Having received a phone call from his former partner, Beech, of Eaton Crescent, Uplands, Swansea, agreed to meet her nearby to go shopping. However, when she saw him outside the pub she accused him of having been drinking, something which Beech denied he had done. Read his sentencing here.

Joseph Tanetta

Tanetta was jailed for a violent robbery in the Splott area of Cardiff after a person was attacked as they were walking home from a night out. South Wales Police said 30-year-old Tanetta was one of the two men that attacked a 27-year-old man who was walking home at around 4am on May 8, 2022.

According to the police, the victim suffered a broken jaw, which required a metal plate, and a puncture wound to his thigh. They added that Tanetta was identified as a suspect from DNA found inside the victim's pocket. For the latest Cardiff news, sign up to our newsletter here.

Steven Johnson

The busker threatened to set a woman ablaze and burn down a petrol station when he was asked to leave a forecourt.

Johnson, 52 was busking on the forecourt of a petrol station in Pentraeth, Anglesey, on August 8 when he was asked to move. He then started shouting at the manager that he would "set this place on fire", as he held a lighter in his hand.

Peter David Long

Long was jailed for 24 years for sexual offences dating back to the 1970s. The 66-year-old pleaded guilty on August 21 to six counts of sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 years and 13 counts of indecent assault.

The 19 offences were against four girls who were all aged between seven and 14 at the time of the offending.

Nathan Tucker

The drug dealer had a kilo of cocaine sent Special Delivery from a supplier in Liverpool When police raided former Tata Steel worker Tucker's house they found the still-wrapped parcel tucked away on top of the wardrobe in his bedroom.

Swansea Crown Court heard Tucker refused to reveal the pin for his phone but officers were able to gain limited access and found a video which suggested the parcel in the bedroom had not been the first such delivery from Merseyside. Sending the 33-year-old dad-of-three to prison a judge said it was clear he had been dealing cocaine on a "significant scale".

Gruffydd Llyr Williams

The stalker who told his former partner's employer she was "morally" unfit to work after she ended their relationship and threatened to post intimate pictures of another woman has been jailed.

Williams, known as Llyr, from Efailnewydd, near Pwllheli, Gwynedd initially appeared "charming, thoughtful and caring" when he began a relationship with the woman known as Victim A from January, 2020.

Gareth Ashton

A group of schoolgirls helped bring down a paedophile they spotted loitering near a railway bridge. Ashton was seen following children and taking pictures of them.

Ashton was chased by a group of girls who had spotted him, before they took a photograph of him. Police enquiries later found he had taken pictures up a girl's skirt, and had images of a young girl naked on a beach.

Aladje Balde and Bavine Durame

The two drug dealers rammed into a police car after they were caught red handed. They reversed their car into the police vehicle before being penned in.

Balde and Durame, both 21, were travelling in a Toyota Yarris in Cardiff in March when they were seen by officers from the South Wales Police roads policing unit. As the officer activated their blue lights and siren, Balde reversed into the police.

Armani Brown, Ahmed Hassan, Philip Royal

Members of an organised crime gang (OCG) were found in possession of hundreds and thousands of pounds worth of cocaine when police executed a drug warrant. The leader was a promising footballer who used the name Emporio Armani in drug communications.

A warrant was executed at an address in Newport on October 21 after police had received information of a drugs operation in the Pillgwenlly area of the city. When officers entered the house in Carlisle Street, the OCG leader Armani Brown, 26, and another man were seen in the hallway. Read the sentencing here.

Andrew Taylor

He launched a random and violent attack in the middle of a busy high street in Monmouthshire, and received a sentence of two years in prison after he appeared at Newport Crown Court on Wednesday, October 16.

Taylor, 42, also known as Andrew Bourke, struck another man who was unknown to him on the back of the head with a metal bar in Monnow Street, Monmouth.

Hawre Ahmed and Karwan Jabari

An illiterate goatherder from northern Iraq ended up dealing Class A drugs on the streets of Aberystwyth. Ahmed worked for an organised crime group that was using asylum seekers as couriers and dealers and using car washes and barber shops as "front" businesses.

Ahmed was living in Newcastle when he was taken to the mid Wales town where he operated as part of a gang which included fellow Kurd Jabari who had been recruited in Northampton. Ahmed and Jabari are the latest dealers to be sent down following a major police investigation into a Swansea and Birmingham-based crime gang which was shipping large quantities of cocaine and cannabis into Aberystwyth. Read the sentencing here.

Christopher Watson

He set fire to his uncle's house while he was on holiday after failing in his bid to use the property as a love nest for the secret affair he was having.

Watson poured an accelerant over the front door of the house and torched it in the hope his relative would relent and ask him to move in and keep an eye on the property while he was in Australia.

Gareth Jones

The stalker put a tracker in his ex-partner's car and lied in order to get her arrested during a "sinister" campaign. Jones also smashed her glass door with a concrete slab and threatened to drown her dog.

Jones, 32, of Manor Lane, Bagillt, Flintshire, admitted two counts of stalking and two of causing criminal damage. A judge called Jones "an inadequate individual" and jailed him for a total of 32 months.

Ben Logan

His "out-of-control" cocaine habit saw him turn to dealing ketamine and cannabis to fund his addiction. When labourer Logan was stopped outside a Gower holiday park police recovered a tool bag containing more than £9,000 worth of drugs and £1,300 in cash. Read his sentencing here.

Cameron Ismail

He removed his belt and used it to whip the person who had stolen his necklace in the face. Ismail's belt had a heavy metal buckle and the weapon caused significant injuries to his victim including multiple jaw fractures which required surgery to have metal plates and screws installed.

The defendant later claimed he had been acting in self defence and said he had only taken his belt off to allow him to run quicker and it had then come into contact with the victim's face by accident. A judge described that version of events as "wholly implausible".

James Hemmings

The convicted paedophile was found with images on an iPad of children as young as three years old being raped. He was prohibited by a court order from possessing electronic devices without the knowledge of the probation service.

Hemmings, 69, of Penarth, was previously convicted of assault by penetration of a child under 13, indecent assault and possession of indecent images in 2007. He received a jail sentence in 2017 after he was again found in possession of indecent images of children, and was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) Read his sentencing here.

Matthew Samuel

The stalker made a woman's life "a misery" with a campaign of unwanted and threatening calls, texts, and visits to her home. Samuel bombarded his victim with calls - up to 93 in one day - and threatened to turn up at her children's play centre and stab himself in front of everyone there.

Swansea Crown Court heard Samuel had multiple convictions for stalking and harassing two former partners, behaviour which on one occasion involved him pouring petrol over an ex's driveway and setting fire to it. Sending the defendant to prison a judge said his "immature and pathetic behaviour" was more akin to something a 13-year-old boy would do rather than a 33-year-old man.

James Knight

He made lurid threats to "slice up" a friend and torch his house with his family inside. Knight was later found wandering the streets in a an "angry, drunk, and drugged-up" state carrying a machete.

Knight's advocate told Swansea Crown Court the two men had known each other for some time and there were "high points and low points" in their friendship and "times when they were very close and times when they were less close". He said it was fair to say the threats had been made when the pair were "less close".

Tim Perkins

The former player with the Ospreys academy rugby set up was found dealing heroin and crack cocaine on the streets of Swansea. Perkins was caught by police in a joint undercover operation by South Wales Police and officers from Liverpool.

Swansea Crown Court heard police had to use batons to smash their way into the Mercedes car the 22-year-old defendant was driving and then use incapacitant gas to subdue and arrest him. The defendant was found with two dozen ready-to-sell deals of Class A drugs along with almost £800 in cash and a phone which showed his involvement in dealing drugs across Swansea and Gower.

Jonathan Davies

The burglar trashed a Burger King restaurant looking for items to steal then shoplifted more than £1,000 worth of goods from a branch of Boots.

Davies caused more than £18,000 of damage to the fast food outlet including pouring bottles of cola into electrical equipment and smashing tills.

Cori Trotman

He repeatedly stabbed a stranger he had only just met with a "massive carving knife". Trotman left his victim - a former soldier - bleeding heavily from wounds to his shoulder, back and neck.

Swansea Crown Court heard the motivation for the assault remained unclear but might be linked to difficulties Trotman was having with the end of a relationship with a woman who was at the party where the stabbing happened. Sending 26-year-old Trotman to prison a judge said he had been "incredibly stupid" in taking the weapon to the house, and said the location of the wounds suggested it had been a "cowardly attack".

Stephen Evans

Evans was jailed after threatening to rape a woman at a Welsh Cathedral. The 41-year-old also made a throat-slitting gesture in front of her and uttered derogatory religious remarks.

Evans pleaded guilty to a series of offences committed in Bangor between March and September this year. The judge at Mold Crown Court sentenced him to eight months and one week in prison.

Neritan Nika

The drugs courier was found with more than 6kg of cannabis worth up to £49,000 after he travelled from Surrey to Wales to pick it up. He was stopped while driving on the M4 and the drugs were found in the boot.

Nika, 32, was boxed in by police on the M4 near Briton Ferry on July 4 after intelligence was received to suggest he was in possession of drugs. Officers noticed a strong smell of cannabis when they approached the silver Audi, with the defendant behind the driver's seat and his cousin in the passenger seat.

Keelan Parsons

The thug fractured his girlfriend's jaw after he pulled her to the floor and kicked her in the head and her mouth. He left before returning and delivering multiple punches to her head and stomach.

Parsons, 21, was heavily intoxicated when he assaulted the victim after they had been out for a meal in Treorchy and began arguing on a bus on their way back to Porth. The bus driver had to separate them due to their behaviour after he accused the victim of "cheating on him".

Karl Young

He punched and kicked two women and half stripped one of his victims after they didn't give his friend the drugs he had paid for. Young cornered the females in the stairwell of a block of flats and beat them up with help from associates Pawel Grzybowski and Leanne Rees.

A judge at Swansea Crown Court said it was clear the two women who had been attacked were not "hardened drug dealers" and said Young had used his physical strength to dominate them. One of the defendants failed to turn up for the sentencing hearing and an arrest warrant was issued. Read his sentencing here.

Serwan Mahmoud

The father was desperate for money to pay for his dying son’s medical bills and joined a criminal gang and couriered £1m of illegal money destined for Iran. Mahmoud, 43, told police he had been unaware the money he was collecting from addresses across the UK to be transferred to Iran was illegal.

When police pulled Mahmoud over on the M4 near Cardiff on June 10 he told them they would find a lot of cash in his car. Officers from Gwent Police then found hundreds of pounds in the centre console and £76,000 in the boot, Clare Wilks, prosecuting, told a sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.

William Joyce

He led an armed gang which smashed up a house in the dead of night when he should have been in prison. Joyce had been allowed four-days' home leave but simply never returned and was at large for almost two years during which time he took part in the mob attack.

Sending Joyce to prison a judge said she was satisfied the father-of-four had played a leading role in the house attack. At the time of the incident Joyce was unlawfully at large having been given temporary home release part-way through an eight-year prison sentence imposed for his part in a family-based burglary gang which committed more than 70 house burglaries across south Wales.

Terrance Lloyd

Jailed after sexually assaulting a teenager in July last year. Lloyd, 38, of no fixed abode, appeared at Llandudno Magistrates Court, on Friday October 4, after being found guilty of sexual assault.

A North Wales Police statement said: "On July 2, 2023, Lloyd followed a 13-year-old girl into her home in Bangor where he slapped her on the bum. Despite the victim telling him to stop, he continued to ask her for her phone number even after she told him her age.

Shea Holleywell

He deliberately tried to infect a police officer with Hepatitis C by forcing his bleeding hand into the officer's mouth. The male officer could taste Holleywell's blood in his mouth and did his best to spit it out but then had to endure three months of worry and repeated tests to see if he had contracted the disease.

Sending the defendant to prison for five years and three months, a judge at Swansea Crown Court told him his actions had been "disgusting" and had had a very significant impact on the victim.

Lewis Holton

The thug attacked a woman by biting her and pulling her hair before threatening to put "thousands of pounds on her head" if she reported the matter to police. It was also revealed he has a previous conviction for biting a woman.

Holton, 24, of Pantside, near Newbridge, in Caerphilly, gripped the woman's hair with his hands, bit her, spat at her, struck her face with the back of his hand and threw a vape pen at her during the assault. A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard the defendant also made threats against the victim in a bid to stop her reporting the matter to police.

Adam Griffiths

The serial shoplifter threatened to stab a B&M Bargains worker as he made his getaway with a stolen vacuum cleaner. It was the seventh time Griffiths had been caught stealing in less than under a year.

Prosecutor Craig Jones told Cardiff Crown Court that the 43-year-old entered the shop in Fforestfach, Swansea, on September 18. It was brought to the attention of store employee Jake Brownlie that Griffiths was an associate of a known shoplifter who that same day had tried to steal two bottles of lemonade from the shop. Griffiths picked up a Tower vacuum cleaner and walked past an unmanned till but his route to the exit was blocked by Mr Brownlie, who asked him to pay for the item.

Andrew Smith

The disqualified driver who rammed a police car at a Costa Coffee drive thru was jailed at the end of the month. Officers stopped a Transit Van, with cloned plates, which was being driven by Smith, at the Dobshill coffeehouse on Deeside, in September this year.

They blocked the van in with a squad car when it was at the front of the queue, but Smith drove the van at the police vehicle and smashed into it. He then revved the engine to try and move the damaged car out of the way, before fleeing on foot.

Aris Simos

The drug dealer was found with deals of heroin and crack cocaine when he was stopped by police while driving in Cardiff. Messages on his phone revealed he was working for a more established upstream dealer.

Simos, 52, had travelled from London to Cardiff the day before his arrest on March 22. He was driving a Nissan car when he was stopped by officers in Albany Road around 12.15pm.

Maurice Taylor

He dragged an officer to the floor, before spitting in her face and assaulted two members of the public helping to restrain him.

Taylor, 51, of Church Street, Flint, appeared before Wrexham Magistrates Court charged with resisting and assaulting an officer, threatening behaviour with intent to cause fear, criminal damage and assault. Read his sentencing here.

Andrew Smythe

Smythe was sentenced for drink driving and was jailed, after he was caught again months later. Smythe had been disqualified when police pulled him over in the Bangor area. Read more here.

Lee Gallagher and Ethan Bablak-Land

A lottery ticket helped catch a cocaine dealer who claimed the tens of thousands of pounds he was making was down to selling Turkish cigarettes.

Gallagher claimed he'd been travelling to Turkey and bringing back quantities of tobacco which he was selling before transferring the profits to someone in Birmingham - but phone evidence revealed the true source of the cash. Bablak-Land was one of his associates. Read more here.

Jaroslaw Pecherzewski

The 'bully and thug" claimed to be a policeman while robbing a stranger he came across outside the flats where he lived. Pecherzewski was arrested within just hours of the robbery for beating up his wife.

Swansea Crown Court heard former IT worker Pecherzewski had a history of assaulting his partner, including on one occasion punching her in the face and then grabbing and shaking her with such force that the woman was left with bruises. Sending the 56-year-old to prison, a judge said it was clear the defendant had a "major problem" with his temper when in drink.

Bradley McCoy

The abusive man strangled his partner after she found a video of him having sex with another woman. He assaulted her on other occasions when he was intoxicated and damaged her phone and car keys.

McCoy, 25, of Blackwood, was in an on and off relationship with the victim, during which he assaulted her numerous times. The first assault took place on March 16 when he "backhanded" the victim and caused her a black eye. Read his sentencing here.

Oliver Torkington

He launched a "brutal, sustained and merciless attack" on his partner after becoming jealous that she had spoken to a doorman during a night out. Torkington punched, strangled, and stamped on the woman and "thrashed her savagely" with a thin piece of metal.

Swansea Crown Court heard the defendant claimed he had been acting in self-defence when he launched the assault, claims the judge said were "almost laughable". Sending him to prison, the judge said the attack had been born from his paranoid jealousy, and told him: "Your maturity and insecurity would be pathetic in an adolescent boy never mind a man approaching 40".

Jamie Knox

The bicycling robber grabbed a stranger in the street and issued lurid threats to "choke and slice" his victim unless he handed over his cash. During the robbery, Knox held a sharp object to the back of the victim in what a judge said must have been a terrifying incident.

Swansea Crown Court heard that at the time of the robbery 32-year-old Knox was subject to a suspended sentence after being found carrying a lock knife. He has previously been jailed for his part in a heroin and cocaine supply conspiracy which operated from a famous Swansea hotel.

Nicholas Lewis

Known as “Nicky Chicken”, he subjected his partner to a series of assaults including throttling her Lewis also stole his victim's money, damaged her property and made threats.

Swansea Crown Court heard Lewis had a conviction for assaulting a previous partner with a spade in an attack which left his victim needing stitches. In total the defendant has 99 previous offences on his record, and his barrister said her client’s addiction to drugs - substances he was exposed to as a child by his drug-abusing parents - lay at the root of his "sorry history of offending". Read his sentencing here.

Shaquille Hatim

The drug dealer was found with almost £30,000 in cash and €5,000 when his home was raided by police. He was also running a drug line which sold heroin, crack cocaine and cocaine.

Hatim, 24, was seen selling drugs outside his home in Cardiff on April 26. Officers attended his address in Mill Road, Ely, where he was arrested and a search was conducted.

Josh Murphy

He was found in possession of more than £1,000 worth of cocaine after police stopped him while he was driving under the influence of cannabis. Messages were also found on his phone which showed he had been dealing cocaine and cannabis.

Murphy, 25, was pulled over by police in Bridgend on May 20 last year as he was driving a white Ford Fiesta. Officers noticed a strong smell of cannabis coming from the car and the defendant tested positive for the drug.

Andrew Burke

The "twisted monster" raped a woman at knifepoint as she was crying. Burke later went on to sexually abuse a number of children in a sickening string of crimes.

The 60-year-old from Cardiff held his victim at knifepoint as he raped her, drawing the blade over her stomach as he did so. She was crying throughout the attack but he refused to stop. A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard the defendant had also sexually abused a number of children. Read his sentence here.

Grant Young

The "controlling, manipulative and physically abusive" man subjected a woman to a "sexual mauling" after luring her to a secluded area. The victim told a court the incident had left her feeling "helpless" and on medication.

Young, 33, was convicted of sexual assault following a trial at Cardiff Crown Court. During the incident, he pinned down his victim and attempted to kiss and hug her. Read his sentence here.

Damian Wojnilowicz

The burglar broke into a woman's home where he hung out her washing and performed tasks such as emptying her recycling bin and putting her shopping away. He left her a note saying "Don't worry, be happy, eat up and scratch".

Wojnilowicz, 36, carried out the unusual burglary at the home of his victim in Monmouthshire on July 16. She returned home from work to discover her washing had been hung up on the line and items had been moved in the garden.

Michael Williams

The serial shoplifter who attacked his partner and spat at police officers has appeared in court after convictions for a long list of offences. Williams, 31, of Belmont Street, Barry, shoplifted from the same store in Barry on 16 occasions and was also found on separate occasions to be in possession of a knife and cocaine.

The total value of items taken under all 25 counts of shoplifting was £958.25. Williams had a “very sad” story, said his defence counsel, after becoming addicted to ketamine as a young child and having no family unit growing up.

Marshall Lewis

The dangerous driver rammed into a police car and smashed into a number of parked vehicles before attempting to flee the scene. He drove up to 90mph during a police chase and caused injury to the pursuing officer.

Lewis, 25, was caught speeding by a police officer in Cardiff on February 4. He was driving a black Peugeot 108 on Heol Trelai in Ely and was pursued by the officer.

Joshua Jones

The "serial abuser of women" has been jailed for repeatedly breaching a restraining order designed to protect an ex-partner and for throttling her to the point where she could not breathe. The victim of the abuse said she could no longer wear clothes that were tight around her neck as they caused flashbacks to what happened, and said she felt she could no longer trust any man.

Swansea Crown Court heard Jones had 21 previous offences on his record all of which were related to former partners. The 23-year-old's barrister said his client's parents had both been heroin addicts and he had endured a "simply appalling childhood" but that he wanted to be a better father to his young daughter than his dad was to him.

Michael Cross

The drugs runner was found with 4g of crack cocaine when police raided his flat as a woman tried to warn him of their presence. He was also found in possession of a mobile phone which contained messages which showed he had been dealing crack cocaine and cannabis.

A search warrant was executed at the flat of Cross, 31, in Barry on June 22 after they saw a woman leaving the address following a suspected drug deal. Police officers approached the woman and "wrestled" with her, which led to her dropping a white rock.

Ashley Lewis

The amateur boxer was found in possession of up to £6,000 worth of cocaine at the family home he shared with his partner and children. A phone used as a drugs line was also found in a children's toybox.

Lewis, 35, was raided by police at his home in Cardiff on July 9 and told officers there were drugs in the bathroom. Five black wraps of cocaine weighing 114g were found in a bathroom cupboard.

Nathan Leatherland

Negotiators had to be called out after a man threatened to shoot police officers and claimed he had bullets and was military trained. Officers broke into his home and arrested him after he began self harming.

Police were called after Leatherland, 32, was seen making threats in the street outside his home in Caldicot, Monmouthshire, on January 4. He was seen with two cans of Heineken and a silver bar, which he threw through the open door of a house.

Dylan Forbes

The drug dealer continued selling cocaine even after appearing in the dock of a crown court and being handed a suspended prison sentence for a vicious and unprovoked attack on a stranger in the street.

Forbes' dealing came to light after a high-speed police pursuit through the streets of Swansea which led to the recovery of his phones and to his stash of the Class A drug. Read his sentencing here.

Osasuyi Odeh

Sentenced after attacking his partner with a vodka bottle leaving her with severe head injuries and in need of 12 staples during a holiday in Llandudno, Odeh, 37, was on a break with his partner when the assault occurred, Mold Crown Court heard.

Odeh pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding and causing criminal damage. Read his sentencing here.