‘Vindictive’ dad trashes his own son’s work vehicle

A DAD carried out a “vindictive” attack on the van his self-employed son used for his work, a court has heard.

Gary Rees slashed the tyres of the vehicle and stabbed its seat belts with scissors before stealing of equipment from the back.

He went on to send a series of unpleasant messages to his daughter about the death of a loved one, in breach of a restraining order.

Sending the 50-year-old Llanelli man to prison, a judge warned him that if he continued to offend against his family in ways that put them in fear, he could be slapped with a court order which bans him from going to certain areas of the town.

Megan Jones, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that on the morning of December 14 last year Rees’s son Jake woke to find the van he used for his window cleaning business had been attacked – two tyres had been slashed, the wing mirrors smashed and the doors dented.

The damage continued inside the vehicle, with the indicator stalks snapped off, and the radio and seat belts “stabbed”. A pair of scissors was found embedded in the seat belt. Tools and equipment worth around £1,500 had also been taken from the back. The court heard the victim suspected his father was responsible for the attack.

The prosecutor said the second piece of offending involved the defendant’s daughter Katie.

In September this year Rees sent scores of unpleasant messages to the woman on WhatsApp – in breach of a restraining order.

In some of the messages Rees talked about “synchronised swimming in the Tawe”, knowing his daughter had lost a loved one to drowning in the River Tawe.

The messages were sent shortly after Rees got out of prison on licence following a sentence for an unrelated burglary.

In victim impact statements which were read to the court, Jamie Rees said the fact his father was responsible for the attack “shows the kind of man he is” and he said his dad needs to understand the “misery he is causing his family”, while Katie Rees said she lives in fear that her father would approach her and hurt her.

Gary Rees, of Clos Sant Paul, Llanelli, had previously pleaded guilty to criminal damage, theft from a motor vehicle, breach of a restraining order and harassment when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has 16 previous convictions for 29 offences including battery, breach of a restraining order, stalking, sending malicious communications and burglary.

The court heard that Rees’s previous harassment of his family included him pretending to be a police officer and calling his ex-partner and daughter to tell them their lives were in danger and they needed to move to a place of safety. Rees has also entered his son’s house, taken his keys and thrown them down the drain.

Steve Burnell, for Rees, said the facts of the new offending were accepted.

Judge Catherine Richards told Rees his behaviour towards his son had been “vindictive”, and she said the messages to his daughter had caused great distress.

The judge warned Rees that if he continued to behave towards his family in ways which put them in fear, the Crown might seek restraining orders which prohibited him from entering parts of Llanelli.

With one-third discounts for his guilty pleas, Rees was sentenced to a total of 18 months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Rees was made subject of a five-year restraining order banning him from contacting his son.