Martin Guard (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police)
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A serial domestic abuser who headbutted and throttled his partner outside a Wetherspoon bar in Llanelli has been sentenced to 16 months in prison at Swansea Crown Court.
Martin Guard, 46, of Bryn Siriol, Llanelli, admitted common assault and intentional strangulation. He received a 20 per cent reduction in his sentence for entering guilty pleas.
Extensive criminal history
The court was told Guard’s offending stretches back to when he was just 12 years old, with a record spanning more than 140 previous crimes. These include robbery, possession of offensive weapons, drug offences, assaults, and domestic violence.
In September 2021, he was handed a two-and-a-half year prison term for a prolonged attack on a partner inside her Llanelli flat. During that assault, which lasted several hours, he repeatedly punched the woman, choked her, pulled her by the hair, stamped on her, and struck her in the head with a baseball bat.
After the victim escaped, Guard destroyed her flat. While in custody he then attacked two officers who attempted to stop him harming himself – punching one in the face and grabbing the other by the testicles. At the time of the baseball bat attack, Guard had been out of prison on licence for just five months following a previous conviction for assaulting his partner.
The assault outside The York Place
Prosecutor Tom Scapens told the court that on October 23 last year, Guard and his partner had been at the Wetherspoon pub in Llanelli town centre. A disagreement broke out between the pair outside the venue, during which Guard headbutted the woman to the face before seizing her by the throat, forcing her down onto a chair, and getting on top of her.
A staff member at The York Place witnessed what was unfolding and ran out to put a stop to the attack.
Victim did not support prosecution
Mr Scapens told the court the victim had not engaged with police and was not supportive of the case being brought. He said officers had welfare concerns regarding the woman, but without her cooperation a restraining order could not be sought.
Defence and sentencing
Helen Randall, representing Guard, said the incident outside the pub had been short-lived. She noted that her client had already spent approximately five and a half months on remand.
Passing sentence, Judge Paul Thomas KC described the assault as “cowardly” and said calling it “an ugly incident” would be a “gross understatement.” He said Guard’s position was made worse by his “very bad” record of violence.
Guard will serve up to half the 16-month sentence behind bars before being released on licence to complete the remainder in the community.
