Man admits suspended sentence breach at Caernarfon court

A homeless man admitted breaching a suspended sentence after missing a probation appointment – telling a judge his “head fell off” when he was asked to attend a police station without his medication.

The breach

Daniel Spencer, 36, formerly of Bangor and currently held at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, appeared before Judge Nicola Jones at Caernarfon Crown Court via video link on Thursday.

Spencer had been given a six-month custodial sentence in April this year, suspended for 12 months. He was brought back before the court for allegedly failing to comply with the terms of that order.

‘All my radars were going off’

Appearing without legal representation, Spencer gave a lengthy account of what had led to the breach. He told the court his probation officer had directed him to report to a police station, but he had not been taking his medication at the time.

“Due to me not having my meds, I started getting paranoid,” he said. “All my radars were going off and I thought I’m not going to the police station – swerve that. My head fell off, like. Then I handed myself in and I am sat in front of you today.”

Judge Jones responded: “I forgot how much you talk!” – drawing laughter from Spencer over the video link.

A route to accommodation

The court heard that if Spencer were given a custodial sentence, he would qualify for accommodation support as a prison leaver, with the service required to find him a place in approved premises.

Judge Jones put the option to him directly: “You’d have accommodation – how does that sound?”

Spencer, who had to be asked to stop speaking on more than one occasion during the hearing, chose to proceed without a lawyer and admitted the breach.

“Let’s not waste time ma’am,” he said. “This all happened because I didn’t have nowhere to stay.”

Sentencing

Judge Jones activated two months of the original suspended sentence. Spencer is expected to serve only a matter of weeks before being released on licence, at which point accommodation arrangements would be in place.

“Good luck, Mr Spencer,” the judge told him. “When you’re on your meds, you’re a lovely fella. Off you go. You’ll be out in a few weeks.”

Spencer left the video suite laughing, replying: “Thank you, see you soon. Oh, no – not see you soon!”