A woman was threatened with having acid thrown in her face after a homeless man she had befriended became enraged on discovering a Cadbury creme egg he gave her for Valentine’s Day contained a £1,000 prize.
A court heard that the woman had felt sorry for Dean Hearne and on Valentine’s Day he turned up at her home with a gift of a rose and Cadbury creme egg.
“When she opened it she discovered she had won a £1,000 prize. He was said to be unhappy and she offered to share the prize money with him,” said Steven Ball, prosecuting.
“Since that point he began to hound her for money and his behaviour turned nasty.”
Hearne, whom she had known since October last year, turned up at her home in Orford at 4 am on March 18 and damaged fence panels, smashed her front window and bottom panel in her front door.
He also threw a glass through the window which smashed on a wall inside, said Mr Ball.
She was left visibly distressed but had refused to make a statement because she was afraid of repercussions though did tell police at the scene what had happened.
In his drunken rampage the defendant kicked at the wing mirrors of two cars parked nearby damaging them.
Mr Ball told Liverpool Crown Court that a week earlier Hearne had called at her house and threatened to throw acid in her face. He was holding a bottle in his hand which he left in her shed “as a reminder.”
It was found by police after the second incident and was found to contain formaldehyde which Mr Ball described as a flammable chemical which can cause irritation to the eyes, nose, throat and skin.
The court heard that the victim told the police that he had threatened he would “get some of his associates to speak to her about the winnings and he regularly turned up at her address unannounced.”
He also said he had set fire to some nearby garages and she was worried he would set fire to her home.
When Warrington man Hearne was arrested he was drunk and had to be handcuffed. Inside a police car he was head-butting the window and had to be removed for his own safety.
He was shouting and kicking out, catching one of the officers on the leg. When searched at the police station he was found to have a small amount of amphetamine in his sock.
Mr Ball said he refused to come out of his cell to be interviewed and when they tried to interview him in the cell the told them to f… off.”
Hearne, of no fixed address, who has 30 previous convictions including for violence, pleaded guilty to harassment, three offences of criminal damage, assaulting an emergency worker, possessing amphetamine and being in breach of a suspended sentence imposed for failing to complete a community order. He was unrepresented and declined to give any mitigation.
Jailing him for 12 months Judge Robert Trevor Jones said that the offences arose as a result of the acquaintance the victim had struck up with him because she felt a degree of pity because he was homeless.
“But it all turned sour and you behaved in such a way she was repeatedly caused real distress. You made a really menacing threat to throw acid in her face holding a bottle to back up the threat which you left in the shed to remind her of the threat.”
The judge also imposed a restraining order to keep away from the victim.
