A teenager’s rage over a dachshund puppy has landed him behind bars.
Jack Laffey threatened to “snap the necks” of both the dog and his girlfriend, fearing she would start seeing other men if he was locked up. This resulted in him chasing her around the streets in a car, leaping onto the bonnet of her vehicle and kicking the windscreen. The brute then dismissed his actions as “a bit of murder with my bird”.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Laffey had been dating Amy Connolly since January this year before the pair purchased a dachshund puppy named Timmy on April 24.
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However, they started arguing around this time as he “believed she would sleep with other people while he was in jail.” With the 19 year -old reportedly being sought by Merseyside Police and planning to surrender himself, he “did not want her to have the dog any more.”
Prosecutor, Louise Santamera described how he then called his partner from a blocked number 20 times “in a short period” on April 26. Fearing that Laffey would come to her home, Ms Connolly left the property.
The teen then FaceTimed her “demanding to know where she was” as he “wanted the dog back” and “didn’t want her to be with another man and the dog when he was in prison.”
He also “threatened to snap the dog’s neck, snap her neck and put a brick over her dad’s head”, adding: “A whip is going through your window and your house is getting burned down,” reports the Liverpool Echo.
Ms Connolly, returning to her West Derby home, found Laffey, of no fixed abode, in a Ford Focus driven by a mate. She drove off but was pursued where he began attacking and booting her windows before smashing her passenger side wing mirror.
She escaped but had to stop at traffic lights. Laffey caught up with her again, got out and damaged Ms Connolly’s driver’s side mirror.
She sped off once more but was overtaken by the other car. The other vehicle, now driven by the defendant, then “slammed on its brakes, forcing her to stop.”
Laffey exited the vehicle again and started banging on her windows, tried to open her boot and snapped her rear wiper off. He then drove off “due to the level of attention being given from members of the public and passing motorists”, but waited for Ms Connolly further along Eaton Road.
There, he pulled up next to her car again and leapt onto her bonnet before kicking at the windscreen while making further threats to torch her house. Laffey continued back to her house, where he was eventually arrested.
He told cops he’d had “a bit of murder with his bird” but hadn’t committed any crimes.
Earlier this year, Laffey received a six-month suspended sentence for dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking after he was caught speeding.
Callum Ross, his defence lawyer, said in court: “He appears to show some remorse. He does wish to apologise for his actions.
“He told me that he accepts what he has done and that it was wrong. He has had considerable time on remand to think about his actions.
“He does have significant mobility issues as a result of nerve damage to his spine, which was self-inflicted as a result of the usage of nitrous oxide in the past. He does remain wheelchair dependant, other than being able to walk very short distances with the assistance of others or crutches.
“Your honour will have read about the difficulties in his upbringing. He is a young man who needs help, and I will quote him, with getting his life back on track.”
Laffey admitted to criminal damage, a malicious communications offence, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance, and breaching a suspended sentence order. Seated in a wheelchair during a court appearance via video link, he was sentenced to a year in a young offenders’ institute by Judge David Potter.
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