A Carmarthen father has been jailed for 27 months after an alcohol-fuelled rampage at a Swansea Premier Inn that saw him rob a guest, cause thousands of pounds in damage, and end up on a third-floor roof wearing only his underwear. 😱
Christopher Thomas, 33, of Belvedere Avenue, attacked a golfer who was staying at the city centre hotel on 31st August. At 6.45am, Thomas knocked on the victim’s door and began shouting that the man was in his room and had changed his shoes. When the confused guest closed the door, Thomas repeatedly kicked it before walking down the corridor kicking other doors.
Ten minutes later, Thomas confronted the golfer again at reception, demanding his watch and stealing his glasses. He chased the victim down, pushed him to the ground, and hit him over the head with a golf trolley battery and charger.
Thomas then damaged hotel CCTV and internet equipment before using a fire extinguisher to force open a staff room door. He smashed a window and climbed onto the flat roof where police found him in just his underpants, shouting and swearing. When officers tried to talk him down, he asked: “Can you see what she put in my drink?” 👮
The total damage came to almost £3,500. Thomas, who had been drinking vodka and Coke, told police his memory of the night was “wobbly” and he could recall nothing between leaving his room and being on the roof.
In his victim statement, the golfer – who is in his 50s – said: “While the bruises and cuts had healed the emotional scars remain raw and present.” He described the sense of fear at being subjected to such senseless violence as “overwhelming” and said the episode had shattered his trust in people. He added that perhaps the most profound impact had been the challenge to his sense that he was a “resilient” person as, during the robbery, he had felt “powerless and small”.
At Swansea Crown Court, Judge Eugene Egan told Thomas he had drunk a “prodigious” amount of alcohol before going on a “rampage” in the hotel. The judge described the defendant’s behaviour as “boorish, aggressive, bullying, and cowardly”. He said the victim should have left Swansea with happy memories of a golfing trip with friends but instead had gone home with very different memories as a result of the defendant’s “shameful” behaviour.
Defence barrister Caitlin Brazel said Thomas is the primary carer for his 12-year-old son and has five other children. Thomas had written a letter recognising the seriousness of what he had done and had been doing all he could while on remand “to become a better man”.
With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas, Thomas was sentenced to 27 months in prison – 26 months for robbery and one month for criminal damage to run consecutively. He will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence.
