Richard McLoughlin (Image: Gwent Police)
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A man with an extensive criminal history has been sentenced to 21 months in prison after drunkenly threatening to kill his neighbours and directing racial abuse at them in a Newport house share.
Richard McLoughlin, 51, of Caerleon Road, admitted a charge of affray at Cardiff Crown Court in connection with the incident on Monday, March 30, which lasted around half an hour.
Sentencing
Recorder Simon Hughes described the events as “a wholly unsavoury incident through drink” and said there was “plainly an element of racial hostility.”
Addressing McLoughlin, the judge said: “You have an unenviable criminal record. There is no realistic prospect of rehabilitation in this case and you have been assessed as posing a high risk of reoffending.”
Alongside the prison term, McLoughlin was made the subject of five-year restraining orders preventing contact with his victims.
The threats
Prosecuting, Rose Glanville outlined how the confrontation began after other residents in the shared property challenged McLoughlin over noise they believed was him smashing crockery in the kitchen.
After being told to keep quiet, McLoughlin responded: “Everyone is going to die in the morning. I will slit your throat with a knife.”
He declared he wanted “the foreigners out of Newport” that evening and told one man he would break his jaw and kill him before ordering him to “go back to his own country.”
Defence
McLoughlin’s barrister Paul Hewitt rejected the suggestion his client had been deliberately breaking items, explaining the noise came from him accidentally dropping a plate intended for a late-night takeaway.
Mr Hewitt said: “He came home from the pub drunk and he drops a plate in the kitchen.”
He added: “He has issues with addictions and he is battling with that.”
The court was told McLoughlin is a Catholic who attends All Saints Church in Newport and has health difficulties including high blood pressure and heart problems.
McLoughlin’s basis of plea – that he was not in possession of a knife during the incident – was accepted by the prosecution.
Criminal record
The defendant had amassed 18 previous convictions spanning 44 offences. Among them was a 2015 conviction for racially aggravated harassment.
