Lee Athay (Image: Gwent Police)
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A man who threatened his pregnant ex-girlfriend with a hammer before using it to smash his way into the home where she was staying has been jailed.
Lee Athay, 30, made a chilling phone call to his former partner, who was 12 weeks pregnant with his child, on the morning of Friday, September 26 last year.
The threat
Cardiff Crown Court heard how Athay called the woman at 7.58am while she was staying at a property in Cwmbran belonging to her cousin and his partner.
Charles Archer, prosecuting, said: “The defendant said, ‘I know where you f****** are. I’ve got a hammer and I’m coming for you.'”
He turned up at the address shortly after and used the hammer to smash the glass of the front door to get inside.
The attack
Once inside, Athay dropped the hammer before punching the woman’s relative in the face and kicking him in the chin, knocking him unconscious.
The victim’s girlfriend armed herself with a knife and waved it at Athay, at which point he picked up the hammer and left the property.
He then sent a threatening message to his sister.
Previous offending
Athay, of The Tower, Tudor Road, Southville, Cwmbran, has 32 previous convictions for 60 offences including attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, ABH and battery.
He pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon in public, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, criminal damage and sending a communication threatening serious harm.
Defence and personal circumstances
Kirsten Murphy, for Athay, said: “Sadly, his former partner miscarried at eight months. The defendant has been struggling with grief in custody and was unable to attend the funeral.”
The court heard Athay suffers from schizophrenia.
Miss Murphy added: “He’s determined that this is the last time he’ll be in custody.”
Sentencing ⚖️
Judge Paul Hobson told Athay: “You have a temper which leads to violence. You have a record of aggressive behaviour. There was a significant degree of premeditation here and your offences are aggravated by your previous convictions.”
Athay was jailed for 28 months and will serve half of that time in prison before being released on licence. He was made the subject of a 10-year restraining order not to contact his sister and will have to pay a victim surcharge.
