A MAN who punched the door of a Castle Cary club following an argument inside was on a suspended prison sentence at the time.
Somerset Magistrates were told that Bradley Ryan Watson, 20, suffered from a number of problems including ADHD and after being arrested told the police he often lost his temper.
He pleaded guilty to damaging a door at the Constitutional Club in Castle Cary on April 5 leaving the owners with a £75 cleaning bill to clear up blood he had left at the scene.
Felicity Payne, prosecuting, said that Watson, of Ferrybridge Walk, Gillingham, was out drinking in Castle Cary when an argument occurred inside the club with another individual.
"The defendant then stormed out of the premises and said "I'm not taking this s**t no more" and punched a hole in the door leaving blood on it," she said.
When Watson was later interviewed by police he admitted punching the door after losing his temper.
He said he had to leave before he hit somebody else instead and could not remember hitting the door but conceded it was the sort of thing he would do.
Defending solicitor Neil priest said that Watson suffered from significant mental health problems and had been having professional help for many years.
"He suffers from ADHD and presents with ongoing difficulties with him often losing his temper and becoming frustrated," he said.
He said that Watson was given a nine month suspended prison sentence at Taunton Crown Court which was still active but said the probation service was currently making an application through the court system to remove part of the order's requirements as Watson was unable to deal with group situations.
The magistrates imposed a 12 month conditional discharge for the offence with a £15 victim surcharge but did not take any action on the suspended sentence and allowed it to continue. No costs were imposed.
A MAN who was seen driving a car erratically through Tintinhull weaving from one side of the road to the other before crashing the vehicle has been given a four year driving ban.
When police arrived at the scene the driver Valentin Barna was being treated by paramedics and was slurring his words as well as smelling of alcohol.
A roadside breath test was failed and after being taken to the police station was found to be more than three times the drink drive limit.
Barna, a Romanian national of Stapleton Road, Martock, pleaded guilty to driving a VW Passat at Tintinhull with excess alcohol on June 23 when he appeared before Somerset Magistrates at Yeovil.
Prosecutor Felicity Payne said that the police received two calls from members of the public that a male was driving a car which was swerving across the road and then crashed.
"The witnesses believed he had been drinking and when officers arrived at the scene they could see the airbag had been deployed and fuel was leaking under the car," she said.
"A roadside breath test was failed and after being taken to the police station blew a reading of 107mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg of alcohol."
When he was interviewed he accepted he had been out drinking and it was also discovered he had a previous conviction for drink driving in July 2006 leaving him subject to a minimum three year ban.
Chris Baddoo, defending, said Barna, a maintenance engineer, had been to visit a friend to talk about a personal problem and had a few drinks.
"He had not eaten anything and then made the foolish decision to drive home but had pulled over as there was a problem with water leaking from his car," he said.
"However the police were called and he failed a breath test, giving a high reading."
Alongside the driving disqualification the magistrates fined Barna £365 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £37 victim surcharge.
A YEOVIL man has been ordered to stand trial accused of burglary at a property in North Cadbury.
Shane Bovey, 31, formerly of Matthews Road but currently of no fixed address, appeared before District Judge Maurice Champion sitting at Yeovil.
He was charged that on June 13 he entered as a trespasser an outhouse at North Cadbury and stole a stone saw worth £550.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the offence and elected to stand trial before a judge and jury at Taunton Crown Court.
The case was sent directly to the crown court and he was ordered to attend there for a preliminary hearing on Monday, July 29.
Until his next court appearance he was released on unconditional bail.
A YEOVIL man has been ordered to appear back before magistrates in Yeovil charged with failing to co-operate with the police over a drugs test.
Paul Reason, 36, of Barnabas House, is charged that on June 25 he failed to attend for a follow-up assessment following a test for the presence of cocaine and opiates in his system.
He did not enter a plea when he appeared before Somerset Magistrates and his solicitor Michaela Rose said that it was a relatively new offence and she had concerns that it had not been properly charged.
This view was echoed by the prosecution and the magistrates agreed to adjourn the case until Monday, July 29. In the meantime he was released on unconditional bail.
A CREWKERNE woman who allegedly allowed her house to be used as a drugs den in the town has had the case against her dropped.
Laura Turner, 31, of Southmead Crescent, appeared in the dock before Somerset Magistrates at Yeovil.
She had previously been charged that being the occupier of a specified address in the street, she knowingly permitted or suffered to take place on the premises the production of a controlled class B drug, namely cannabis.
The defendant had not entered a plea and when the matter was before the court for a second time prosecutor Emma Chetland said that the matter was now being withdrawn after a decision had been taken not to pursue the case in the public interest.
A YEOVIL cafe manager has appeared in court charged with helping himself to hundreds of pounds from the till.
Ray Garrett was working at the Gorge Cafe in Glover's Walk and was responsible for banking the takings.
When the accounts did not tally up suspicions were aroused and he was arrested, Somerset Magistrates heard.
Garrett, 30, of Vincent Place, Yeovil pleaded guilty to stealing cash to the value of £1,778.84 belonging to the Gorge Cafe in Yeovil on May 14 when he was brought before the court at Yeovil in custody.
He was arrested after the court issued a warrant when he failed to attend a previous court hearing.
Prosecutor Judy Morris said that the Gorge Cafe was a family owned business near Yeovil bus station and the defendant had been employed there for four years.
"He started working there as a catering assistant and was promoted two years ago to the position of manager," she said.
"While working there he took the takings over a four day period which amounted to a total of £1,778.84."
Defending solicitor Michaela Rose said the case involved a serious breach of trust and the offence involved the takings over a period of four days which he took on one occasion.
She said: "He took the lump sum and failed to put it into the bank but it was not over a prolonged period."
She added that Garrett was suffering with certain mental health and alcohol issues and was also currently under his GP for treatment.
The magistrates agreed to adjourn the case until August 9 for a pre sentence report to be prepared.
Until his next court appearance he was released on bail with the condition that he must comply with the probation service in the preparation of the report.
A BRUTON man has appeared in court facing an allegation of perverting the course of justice.
Ross Alan Penny, 33, of Burrowfield, was in the dock before Somerset Magistrates sitting at Yeovil.
He was charged that on March 4 at Yeovil with intent to pervert the course of justice, did an act, namely provided a false alibi by way of written letter which had a tendency to pervert the course of justice.
The defendant did not enter a plea to the allegation and the matter was so serious that the magistrates ordered him to be sent straight to Taunton Crown Court to be dealt with.
The case was adjourned for him to attend a preliminary hearing there on Monday, August 5.
In the meantime he was released on conditional bail on the understanding he does not contact James Blake directly or indirectly and does not go to a specified address in Shire Way, Westbury.
A YEOVIL man has been ordered to stand trial before Somerset Magistrates accused of stealing £2.50 in cash during a burglary.
James Russ, 29, of Barnabas House was charged with entering as a trespasser a fishing lodge at Yeovil and helping himself to the money.
He pleaded not guilty to the allegation when he appeared in the dock before the court at Yeovil.
The magistrates heard that the defendant was currently on a deferred sentence but the alleged offence was committed before the imposition of that sentence.
A pre trial review was conducted and the case was adjourned for a trial to take place on August 21. Until then he was released in unconditional bail.
AN ILMINSTER man who was stopped in his car after police suspected he was disqualified also discovered he was over the drink drive limit.
Their attention was drawn to a Renault Clio being driven by Paul Cridland in the early hours of the morning as he had a defective number plate.
Checks revealed that the self employed carpenter was banned from driving and when they spoke to him they could smell alcohol on his breath.
He failed a roadside breath test and after being arrested appeared in the dock before Somerset Magistrates.
Cridland, 43, of Canal Way, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol on the B3153 at Langport on June 26 when he appeared before the court at Yeovil. He also admitted charges of driving without insurance and not in accordance with a licence.
Felicity Payne, prosecuting, said that when Cridland was arrested at 2.40am and told he was disqualified he replied: "That was bloody years ago".
"After failing a breath test he was taken to the police station where a further test showed a reading of 62mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, the legal limit being 35mcg of alcohol," she said.
However the court was told that the Crown Prosecution Service had taken the decision not to prosecute the defendant for disqualified driving.
Defending solicitor Neil Priest said that the defendant had been involved in an incident around 20 years ago where he had been disqualified until he passed an extended driving test. He had never completed that test.
He said that on the day in question Cridland had been out drinking and was not the nominated driver but when the person giving him a lift went sick he made a one-off decision to use his girlfriend's car.
"There was no excuse whatsoever for what he did and he had just been preaching to his colleagues that they must not drive home if they had been drinking," he said.
"He does not normally drive and never intends to drive again."
For drink driving the magistrates disqualified Cridland from driving for 17 months and fined him £650 with £85 costs and a £65 victim surcharge. No separate penalty was imposed for the other two offences.