Teen went ‘off the rails’ after splitting with partner
A TEENAGER who went “off the rails” hooked a set of keys through a letter box, stole a car and flipped it on a roundabout.
Jack Martin took Valium after breaking up with his girlfriend before getting caught on CCTV trying to burgle two houses before driving off in the stolen Ford Fiesta.
Speaking at Cardiff Crown Court, his barrister Ieuan Bennett said: “It was a dreadful day for him.”
The court heard the offending happened in Pontypool late on December 14 last year into the early hours of the next day.
Prosecutor Christopher Evans said Joanne Thomas woke to find her car – which had been locked and parked outside her home on Cwrt Y Porth Fawr in Abersychan – was missing.
The Ford Fiesta was thought to be worth about £5,000 and had Christmas presents worth nearly £300 in the boot.
Mr Evans said: “It is believed the keys were hooked out through the letter box of the property.”
Having left Ms Thomas’ home, Martin was caught on camera trying the door handles of her neighbours’ homes.
The defendant drove the stolen car to his father Neil Martin’s house on Ruth Road, Pontypool.
Prosecutors said he was banned from going there by a restraining order imposed at Cwmbran Youth Court on July 25, 2017, for a public order offence.
Mr Evans said: “Mr Martin heard a knock at the window. He opened the blinds and saw his son there.”
He opened the door and the defendant told him he needed money because he had “smashed up” a car. He saw the bumper was heavily dented.
Mr Martin described seeing two other males and one told him: “Your son owes us £200 for the damage to the car.”
Prosecutors said he told them he did not want to get involved and warned them to leave. Mr Martin called 999.
Mr Evans said the Fiesta was later found crashed at a roundabout in Pontypool, adding: “The car had been flipped.”
A black Honda Jazz was “badly damaged” and a white Mercedes had damage to the front. Martin was arrested later that day and denied the offences, claiming he was at home in bed.
Prosecutors said he had 41 previous offences on his record, including 20 theftrelated – mostly for shoplifting. The court heard he breached the restraining order in October 2017 and September 2018, with this being the third breach.
Mr Evans said he was sent to a young offender institution in September 2019 for possessing cannabis and was on licence at the time of the new offences.
Martin, 19, from Morris Rise in Blaenavon, admitted burglary, two counts of attempted burglary, theft of a car and breaching a restraining order.
He attended the hearing via video link from HM Cardiff Prison, while the judge and barristers appeared via Skype.
The court heard he became estranged from his adoptive parents due to drug use and they eventually excluded him from the family home.
Mr Bennett said a break-up with his girlfriend, which left him homeless, caused Martin “to go off the rails completely”.
Martin was sent to a young offender institution for 18 months and disqualified from driving for two years from the time of his release.