ELIJAH GRIFFITHS FROM NEWTOWN SENT BACK TO PRISON FOR BREACHING SUSPENDED SENTENCE

In August 2022, a man from Newtown named Elijah Callum Griffiths was once again brought before the courts, this time facing the consequences of his repeated failure to adhere to court-ordered conditions. The proceedings took place at Welshpool Magistrates’ Court, where Griffiths, aged 23 and residing on Llanfair Road in Newtown, was sentenced to a six-month prison term.

Griffiths’ latest appearance was prompted by his admission to the court that he had not fulfilled specific obligations tied to his previous suspended sentence. Specifically, he failed to attend an unpaid work session scheduled for May 28 and also missed a planned meeting with his probation officer on June 16. These missed appointments were part of the conditions attached to a two-year suspended sentence handed down in November of the previous year. This earlier sentence was itself a consequence of Griffiths’ failure to notify police of a change of address following his release from prison in June 2021, after serving time for multiple breaches of a community order related to a sexual assault incident involving a woman.

The magistrates expressed their disappointment with Griffiths’ attitude towards his probation requirements. They noted that he had shown “little commitment” to his suspended sentence and appeared “reluctant to apply himself,” often ignoring the obligations set out for him. During the court proceedings, Griffiths claimed that he had not received any calls or texts from the probation service, asserting that his phone had been stolen. The court was also told that Griffiths had contracted COVID-19 and was supposedly in isolation from May 30 to June 9. However, evidence presented during the hearing indicated that he was seen out in town with friends during that period, casting doubt on his claims.

Further concerns were raised about Griffiths’ ongoing substance misuse. Reports indicated that he continued to use cocaine and misuse alcohol as a means of coping with stress. The report described him as having a “lack of motivation and enthusiasm,” and noted that he had ceased participating in programs run by Kaleidoscope, a substance misuse charity, because he claimed to be “beyond caring.”

Since the breaches in May and June, Griffiths had also missed an additional four appointments with his probation officer, further demonstrating his non-compliance. The magistrates’ bench, led by Nerys Jones, decided to activate the original sentence. She stated, “We are activating the original sentence and we are sending you to prison for 26 weeks. The reasons are that you failed to comply with the order and breached the order on two dates.”

With this decision, Griffiths was taken from the courtroom by prison officers and transported to begin his six-month incarceration, marking a significant escalation in his ongoing legal issues and underscoring the court’s stance on repeated breaches of court orders.