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Warrant issued for absent defendant

magisA WARRANT for the arrest of Pembroke Dock man was issued after Magistrates found him guilty of using threatening words to cause harassment. Matthew Evans, aged 31, of Bush Street, was due to appear at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday but the trial went ahead in his absence. He was found guilty following evidence from the complainant, Katherine Owen, and a warrant for his arrest was issued to bring him to court for sentencing.

Evans was originally charged with two offences of using threatening words with intent to cause fear, harassment or distress. The first charge of using threatening words with intent was dropped by the prosecution. Prosecuting, Vaughan Pritchard-Jones said: “This selfconfessed alcoholic was seen by the complainant on August 11 to be kicking his dog. The dog was yelping and howling. “The complainant, Katherine Owen, shouted across to him to say ‘stop what you are doing, stop kicking your dog’.

“He began a tirade of foul and abusive language, which went on for some time. He wandered off and started throwing beer cans over the hedges. “Police were called and they arrested him close by. The cans were recovered and he accepted he was the person they were looking for. “He said he wasn’t shouting at the lady and that he was just shouting at his dog”. In his interview at the station, Evans answered ‘no comment’ to a number of questions, such as ‘do you have a dog?’, ‘Why did you kick your dog?’ and ‘why were you verbally abusive?’.

The witness, Katherine Owen said: “We were sitting in bed watching TV when I heard a loud person coming down the road. What caught my attention was the sound of a yelping dog. “I opened the window and saw the gentleman kicking his dog. “I shouted at him to stop but this diverted his attention to me and he started shouting at me as his dog had run off, it was quite a horrible experience.”

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