Dog row led to owner making air rifle threat
A DOG owner threatened a neighbour with an air rifle after being asked to take responsibility for his animal and clean up its mess.
Benjamin Adam James Clarke, who has previously gone by the name Damion Angel-blackheart, raised the weapon to his shoulder and took aim at his victim.
The incident happened just weeks before Clarke threatened RSPCA officers with a knife when they came to his house to check on the welfare of his dog.
Swansea Crown Court heard the 29-year-old defendant pulled the weapon on his neighbour on the morning of December 31, 2019.
Craig Jones, prosecuting, said Clarke was walking his dog in Briton Ferry when he let the animal off the leash to go to the toilet.
A neighbour saw what was going on and approached him, telling the dog owner he was aware that he had not been cleaning up after his pet.
The court heard there was an exchange of words in which the neighbour told Clarke he should take responsibility for his dog and Clarke told him to “f*** off”.
Mr Jones said the defendant went into his nearby house and emerged moments later with an air rifle fitted with a telescopic sight. Clarke raised it to his shoulder and took aim at his neighbour.
The prosecutor said the neighbour didn’t want to turn his back or run away for fear of getting shot but was able to phone the police.
Armed officers were sent and searched the area, finding the defendant in a nearby street. He admitted to them: “I did lose my f ****** nut. I did get myself f ****** armed.”
A search of his house uncovered a springloaded Crossman air rifle which was “functioning but in poor condition”.
Tests showed the power of the weapon was such that it required a licence to own one.
The defendant subsequently gave a “no comment” interview to police.
Clarke, of Ritson Street, Briton Ferry, later admitted possession of an air rifle with intent to cause fear that violence would be used and to possession of an air rifle without a licence.
He has previous convictions for battery, breaching a restraining order, public order matters, possession of a bladed article, and affray. The air rifle incident happened three weeks before Clarke threatened to cut the throats of RSPCA inspectors who went to his house to discuss the care and welfare of his dog, an English bulldog by the name of Ronnie. That confrontation led to armed police, a dog unit, and a specialist negotiator being deployed to his house.
Ian Ibrahim, for Clarke, said the case was of a type that the courts had to deal with all too often – one involving a defendant with mental health issues who had “slipped through the net” and not received the help and support he needed in the community.
He said the defendant had suffered an abusive childhood and had subsequently been diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder and an antisocial personality disorder. The barrister said Clarke was a man who had been “plagued by mental health demons” for much of his life.
He added that the defendant had bought the rusty old air rifle for £50 some months earlier with the intention of going rabbiting, apparently unaware that it was a weapon that required a licence.
Judge Paul Thomas QC said what had started as a relatively minor altercation over Clarke not cleaning up his dog’s mess quickly escalated, with the defendant producing a “fearsome-looking firearm” and taking aim at his neighbour. He said: “[The victim] was extremely frightened – and you intended him to be.”
The judge said ordinarily such behaviour would warrant a sentence of immediate custody but he bore in mind the fact the defendant had already spent six months in prison on remand and the defendant’s mental health needs.
He said in his view the public would be best served by a sentence that allowed Clarke to get help for his mental health issues rather than one which would send him into prison for what would only be a relatively short period given the time he has already been held on remand.
Clarke was sentenced to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course with a mental health treatment requirement.
He was also made the subject of a restraining order banning him from contacting his victim.