Man held ex-partner in her own garage

A woman held in her garage by her ex-partner for around an hour got him to agree to let her go.
Ballymena Courthouse.Ballymena Courthouse.
Ballymena Courthouse.

And, after she had locked herself in her house and phoned police, officers arrived and discovered the man sitting in the dark on a deck chair with a can of beer.

Gregory Shaw (43), of Lisnahilt Road near Broughshane, was sentenced to three months in jail, suspended for 18 months, at Ballymena Magistrates Court on Thursday on charges of common assault and harassment. Defence barrister Michael Smith said a charge of false imprisonment was dropped.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A prosecutor said Shaw and the woman split up and he moved out but kept texting his ex-partner and although the messages were “mostly nice” some were “nasty”.

The prosecutor said the woman told police Shaw came to her house in June last year and although she thought he had left he had gone to her garage. When she discovered him and told him to leave he locked them in and would not let out and grabbed her by the arm.

Mr Smith said Shaw plans to move to Liverpool with a new partner but at the time of the offences, whilst under the influence of alcohol, he could not objectively see that the relationship was over and in fact he was drinking heavily to try and deal with the situation.

As well as the suspended sentence, District Judge Peter King ordered a Harassment Order and warned Shaw not to attempt to contact his ex-partner from England.

Related topics: