A CARMARTHEN man told police that he smashed a window belonging to a Llanelli business because he wanted to go back to prison.
25-year-old Josh Denton – who was jailed for Bitcoin fraud last year – pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal damage when he appeared before magistrates in Llanelli on Thursday (Jun 14).
The court heard that on February 6, Denton attended Llanelli Police Station at around 7.30pm and, speaking into the intercom, told an officer that he had ‘chucked a brick’ at the window of Lazer Zone, but left the police station before officers could speak to him further.
Lazer Zone provided photo evidence, and Denton was subsequently located and arrested.
During police interview Denton told officers that he was ‘flat out’ on drugs, and had thrown the brick in the hope that he could go back to jail to ‘get his head together’.
The damage to the window was estimated at £725, and the owner said that ‘nothing like this had ever happened before’, adding that there were children present at the time.
Denton’s solicitor Laura Sherwood said that he had accepted what he did during the police interview and gave a full explanation.
“He attended the police station immediately off his own back. The police officer took some time to come out after Mr Denton used the intercom and he had left by then,” she added.
Ms Sherwood added that Denton had previous convictions for theft and fraud, and was currently on licence. She noted that during a previous court appearance he had asked to be imprisoned because he was unwilling to work with the probation service.
Denton was given a 12 month conditional discharge, and ordered to pay £725 in compensation and costs totalling £105.
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