A man paralysed from the waist down who was given a suspended prison sentence this summer for driving while drunk at 84mph by pushing his legs onto the pedals has now been jailed for assaulting his pregnant ex-girlfriend.
Wheelchair-bound learner driver Lewis Laville, 21, was stopped by police while driving his Toyota Yaris in Kilgetty in Pembrokeshire in May.
He was warned to stay out of trouble by Judge Paul Thomas QC at Swansea Crown Courtin August this year when he gave him a 15 month jail term suspended for two years for his “appalling” driving offence.
But on Tuesday, Laville, paralysed in a motorcycle crash some years ago, was back before Judge Thomas to admit three counts of common assault against his pregnant former girlfriend Jessica Clarke.
Punched her on the thigh and arm
Tom Scapens, prosecuting, said all three offences, which took place in October, involved Laville assaulting Ms Clarke, pregnant with Laville’s child, while she was driving and he was the passenger.
On one occasion, said Mr Scapens, Laville threw a beer can at her head and then forced her to retrieve it for him from the floor the car while she still driving.
On another, he objected to the speed his girlfriend, who was Laville’s registered carer, had driven over a speed bump and continually punched her on the thigh and arm during an hour long journey, leaving “ugly “ bruises.
Mr Scapens said: “On the third occasion, they drove to the Tesco store in Pembroke Dock and Laville punched her to the head.
“She got out of the car and said ‘I’ve had enough of this’ and threw the car keys at him.”
He said Ms Clarke went to see her father who saw her bruises and he took her to a police station where she made an official complaint.
She also broke off their relationship.
'The plot thickens'
Laville, of Powell Close, Pembroke , was arrested at around 12.30am on October 9 and initially denied the allegations made against him, saying his partner must have fallen but later admitted the assaults.
Judge Thomas was also asked on Tuesday to make a restraining order preventing Laville contacting his former girlfriend but he initially refrained from doing so after hearing a last minute letter from Ms Clarke had been handed into the court requesting a reconciliation.
Mr Scapens however, after making inquiries with Ms Clarke and her father, told the court it appeared the letter had not been written by Ms Clarke.
Referring to a telephone conversation he had during a break in the sentencing hearing, he said: “She said she had not written the letter and became upset.”
The prosecutor added: “The plot thickens”.
'Repeated and sustained' attack
Judge Thomas, who then made the restraining order, said: “This will now have to be investigated by the police but I will pay not attention to it in sentencing today.”
Addressing Laville, Judge Thomas said: “From your previous record it seems you have some kind of desire to put people in peril of a road traffic accident whether you are driving or not.”
The judge said Laville’s assaults on his former girlfriend in October were “repeated and sustained” and jailed him for six months.
He added it was “not just domestic abuse” saying his behaviour put other road users at risk in a similar way to his previous offence when he drove at 84mph on a country road in Pembrokeshire while heavily under the influence of alcohol and using his hands to push his legs onto the pedals.
During the previous hearing, Judge Thomas said Laville’s driving “defied belief”.
SEE-http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/paralysed-man-who-drove-car-10638239
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