A dad of four has described the moment a teenager pointed an airgun at him during a road-rage altercation.
Lewis Sims, 19, pointed a black-coloured hand gun at victim Gareth Oram and told him: “I am going to f***ing kill you. I know who you are.”
Mr Oram told Newport Crown Court he still remembers hearing the screams of his children.
“My children began to scream in fear and I keep hearing those screams in my head at night. I find it difficult to sleep.
“I am shocked that he felt able to carry a gun in broad daylight and threaten a family in a car,” he said.
'Absolutely stupid'
Sims was sentenced to 12 months in a young offenders institution.
Judge Philip Richards called Sims’ actions of pointing the imitation firearm at Mr Oram as “absolutely stupid”.
He described it as an “unthinking act, which I have no doubt did frighten those children.”
The court heard Gareth Oram was driving home from work in Pontypool in September when he saw the teenager driving a black Audi. Mr Oram described Sims’ driving as “erratic and dangerous” and pulled up next to him when he stopped in Talywain.
Laurence Jones, prosecuting, said: “He pulled up next to him to vent his complaints at the standard of his driving and it became a physical scuffle between the two men.”
Mr Oram then left the scene, taking his children – aged three, five, eight and 11 – to a doctor’s appointment, along with his partner Olivia McDonough.
'Pointed fun at him'
Later that day, while out again, Mr Oram saw the teenager in the front passenger seat of a blue car nearby. He drove off, but had to stop due to heavy traffic and the blue car pulled up behind them.
Mr Jones said: “It was obvious that the defendant was carrying a black-coloured hand gun. He came to the car, raised the gun to shoulder height and pointed it at Mr Oram.”
His partner described to police how Mr Oram tried to wrestle the gun from the teenager’s hands.
The prosecutor added: “The children were still in the car, screaming hysterically. He told the defendant: ‘Look, my missus and kids are in the car’.”
The teenager was driven away by a friend in the blue car and a witness called the police, who managed to trace the defendant just before midnight on September 23.
He initially denied having a gun but admitted he had intended to challenge Mr Oram to a fight. The teen was never charged with dangerous driving but admitted possession of an imitation firearm with the intention of causing fear of violence
In a statement to court, Ms McDonough said: “It has made me feel anxious and scared to go out of the house. I am scared for myself and my children.”
'He feels so ashamed'
The court heard Sims, from Maesderwen Road in Pontymoile, has previous convictions for assault and criminal damage.
Sophie Toms, representing Sims said the teenager had been trying to sell the gun at the time and stressed it could not have been fired as it did not contain any pellets.
She said Mr Oram had “started a row” and told the court a witness had seen him punch Sims in the face five or six times.
She added: “He had no idea Mr Oram’s wife and children were in the car – this is the point he feels so ashamed of. It happened in a matter of seconds. His temper got the better of him. He is deeply ashamed of his behaviour.”
Judge Richards described the offending as “a very serious act” and sentenced Sims to 12 months in a young offenders institution.
see-http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/teen-pointed-airgun-dad-four-10612764
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