Newport man jailed for knife threat to girlfriend’s throat

A Newport man who terrified his girlfriend by holding a steak knife to her throat and hitting her with a hurling stick has been jailed.

Damien Shearer, 45, had drunk 10 pints of beer during a day out with his now ex-partner at Newport Saracens RFC and in the city centre before they argued. When they went their separate ways, he threw away the only set of keys to their home.

The woman had to pay a locksmith £200 to let her into the property in Newport during the early hours of the morning of Sunday, July 14 last year.

Hannah Friedman, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court how the woman found Shearer in their bed holding two steak knives after he’d found the keys but not let her know about it.

He pinned her down and held one of the knives at her throat.

Miss Friedman said: “He told her, ‘Shut the f*** up or I’ll kill you and then kill myself.’”

Shearer also hit his girlfriend with the hurling stick after chasing her through their home.

The defendant was found guilty of making threats to kill, threatening a person with an offensive weapon in a private place and assault by beating after a trial at Cardiff Crown Court. He had denied the offences but was unanimously found guilty by a jury.

In a victim impact statement, his now ex-partner revealed how having to give evidence during the trial had been upsetting.

“Telling the jury that I wet myself in terror was humiliating,” she said.

The woman added: “I saw the rage in him that day.”

Shearer’s barrister Alice Sykes said: “This was wholly out of character for him – he has no previous convictions.”

She added how the construction supervisor was a father earning £3,000 a month and has suffered with his mental health and alcoholism.

Judge Celia Hughes told the defendant: “This must have been a terrifying experience for your victim.

“This was an appalling way to behave to your partner.

“You continue to deny your guilt in your pre-sentence report.”

Shearer, formerly of Newport, now of Clint Hill Drive, Leicester was jailed for 33 months and made subject to a six-year restraining order not to contact his victim.

He will also have to pay £2,500 compensation, £500 towards prosecution costs and a surcharge following his release from prison.