A Milford teenager who went on a drug fuelled spree damaging cars has been handed a community order and been hit hard in the pocket.
Nineteen-year-old Harry Holmes-Thompson, of Coombs Drive, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday, charged with for counts of causing criminal damage to vehicles in Milford Haven on May 19.
Prosecutor Abul Hussain told the court that the teenager was ‘out of his mind’ as a result of drug abuse on the night in question, committing criminal damage to the vehicles outside the Conservative Club.
Magistrates heard how Mr. Holmes-Thompson threatened one taxi driver on the street with the words ‘I’ll kick your head in’ before then jumping on the bonnet of a Ford Mondeo causing damage.
He then tried to open the door of another taxi, before kicking the vehicle. CCTV captured Mr. Holmes-Thompson kicking another vehicle, causing dent marks and scratches.
“He was clearly not in a state of mind where he was thinking properly, and when interviewed by police he said that he had a drug problem,” Mr. Hussain told magistrates.
“When shown the CCTV footage, he accepted that his behaviour had been unacceptable, and he apologised for his actions.
“As well as compensation for the vehicle damage, the taxi drivers are also claiming for a loss of earnings that night,” he added.
Defence solicitor Jonathan Webb told the court that his client has been to his GP to try and address his drug problem.
“He has recently completed an apprenticeship with an electrician locally, so hopefully he’ll be back on the straight and narrow sooner rather than later,” he said.
Magistrates handed Mr. Holmes-Thompson a 12 month community order, with a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement of 20 days, and 100 hours of unpaid work.
He was ordered to pay a total of £2,084 in compensation, fines and court costs.