Poor timekeeping landed Bedford’s Gary Martin in trouble and almost in prison, after his failure to be back indoors for 5pm, on more than one occasion, meant he was in breach of a suspended sentence.
In September of this year, Martin appeared at Luton crown court for an offence of making a threat to kill and was given a five-month jail term which was suspended for a year.
As part of the suspended sentence order, he was also made the subject of an electronically monitored home curfew for three months when he had to be indoors between the hours 5pm and 7am.
But within days of the sentence, 55-year-old Martin was arriving at his home after the 5pm deadline and damaged the monitoring equipment installed in his home in a fit of anger.
On September 26 he arrived home after five.
Then on September 29, it was a full seven minutes after the deadline.
On October 7 he was late home by 12 minutes.
Today Martin of Goldington Road in Bedford appeared back at Luton crown court where he admitted breaching the terms of his suspended sentence and to be re-sentenced.
Recorder Bal Dhaliwal was told the offence of making a threat to kill had taken place while Martin was an inmate in Bedford Prison.
Nearing the end of his sentence and concerned that nothing was being done to assist him on his release regarding accommodation, he had barricaded himself in his cell where he then made threats towards members of his family.
A prison officer took the threats seriously with the result that Martin was charged with the offence for which he was given the suspended sentence and the home curfew.
Today Recorder Dhaliwal told Martin he had come very close to going back to prison.
She told him “You are very very close to me activating the full five months.”
Recorder Dhaliwal told Martin: “You are blatantly and deliberately not complying with this court order.”
She told him that because of his behaviour, he would have another month added to the curfew.
And she warned him “If you are late even by a minute on a further occasion, this matter will be brought back to court because you will be facing a term of imprisonment.”
Supplied by South Beds News Agency
Edited by Paul Hutchinson for the Bedford Independent
