Newport Criminal Jailed After Knife and Drug Offences

A man with an extensive criminal history has been jailed after being caught with a knife and crack cocaine in Newport and Cwmbran.

Daniel Barrington, 37, from Newport was arrested on the city’s Cardiff Road on Friday, April 25, while in possession of a knife.

The defendant, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to this as well as possession of crack cocaine in Cwmbran on the next day.

Newport Magistrates’ Court was told Barrington has “a flagrant disregard for court orders”. 👮‍♂️

District Judge Sophie Toms sentenced Barrington to 24 weeks in prison and ordered him to pay £85 costs following his release from custody.

This recent offence follows his previous sentencing to a community order for stealing a mobile phone from McDonald’s on Cardiff Road, as well as a 20-month jail term in November 2021 for breaking into the Havelock Street Presbyterian Church in Newport where he took a TV used by a mother and toddler group.

During that same incident, prosecutor Nuhu Gobir said the defendant also raided Harvey Bowes Financial Services on Newport’s Bridge Street, stealing iPhones, iPads and laptops worth £7,000.

Witnesses spotted Barrington carrying the £649 TV with another man who has not been caught.

In a victim impact statement read by Mr Gobir, pastor Andrew Cleverly said: “This has shocked and upset me and I can’t understand why anyone would want to steal from a church. We are a charity and we are here to help and support the community. The TV was used by a mother and toddler group.”

DNA evidence linked Barrington to the church break-in after scenes of crime officers found a smear of blood on a door.

When arrested, Barrington told police “he would never steal from a church” and claimed he had attended the church as they had helped him with food and clothing. He explained his blood was on the door because he had been “injecting himself in the toilet.”

Following the break-in at Harvey Bowes Financial Services, council CCTV operators spotted the defendant attempting to sell a laptop on Commercial Street. 📱