A man from Cwmavon has been sent to prison after breaking into a woman’s home through a window and threatening her, following what a judge described as a persistent and troubling pattern of behaviour. Samie Jay Ireland, 32, faced Swansea Crown Court this week, where details emerged of his refusal to accept rejection, escalating contact, and ultimately violence against both his victim and police officers.
The court heard that Ireland, already intoxicated, arrived at his female acquaintance’s home in Margam in February. She asked him to leave, hoping to end any further contact. In a clear attempt to sever ties, the woman blocked Ireland on all social media platforms the following day. However, instead of respecting her wishes, Ireland launched a barrage of attempts to reach her, ringing her over 100 times and even using another person’s Facebook account to try to get through.
Events took a darker turn on 5 March, when Ireland returned to the woman’s address. Prosecutor Helen Randall detailed how he smashed the living room window to gain entry, then climbed through, confronting the resident and issuing the chilling threat that he would “batter” her. He then settled down in her home, openly drinking alcohol while she, understandably frightened, fled the house.
Taking advantage of her absence, Ireland stole her car. Not long afterwards, he returned and issued an ultimatum: he would only give back the car keys if she agreed not to involve the police. Unbeknown to him, the authorities had already been contacted and were on their way.
As police officers arrived at the scene, Ireland attempted to flee but was quickly apprehended. The arrest did not go smoothly; Ireland lashed out, spitting at and biting officers, kicking another in the ribs, and unleashing a string of threats. He claimed he knew the officers’ home addresses, saying to one he would “snap every bone in his body” and to another that he would “blow her house up”. Reinforcements arrived and, after further struggling where Ireland began headbutting the inside of the police van, he was eventually restrained with limb restraints.
Ireland admitted charges of burglary, driving while disqualified, and two counts of assaulting emergency workers. The court also reviewed his previous criminal record, noting 13 convictions for 28 offences. These included several connected to harassment or violence against previous partners, dangerous driving, and assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH). A particularly disturbing case from 2020 involved Ireland biting, gouging and punching the former partner of his girlfriend, while in 2021 he was jailed for pursuing an ex-partner in his vehicle after she left her workplace.
Defending, Kate Williams pointed to the pre-sentence report, which highlighted Ireland’s ongoing difficulties handling relationship breakdowns. She told the court that his time spent on remand had prompted reflection about his actions and his use of alcohol and drugs as misguided attempts to cope with his problems.
Presiding, Judge Paul Thomas KC made plain his concern at the repeated pattern of Ireland’s offending. He told the defendant he had consistently fixated on women who had asked to be left alone, insisting on pursuing them regardless of their wishes. The judge described Ireland as someone who “cannot take no for an answer”.
With Ireland’s admissions taken into consideration, the court imposed a 21-month prison sentence: 18 months for burglary and one month for driving while disqualified, to run concurrently, with three-month sentences for each assault on an emergency worker running consecutively. Ireland will serve up to half his sentence in custody, with the remainder on licence in the community.
Additionally, Ireland was banned from driving for 22 and a half months and now faces a five-year restraining order, preventing any contact with his most recent victim. The sentence sends a clear message on the gravity with which courts view repeated harassment, domestic intrusion, and violence towards emergency workers, and underlines the ongoing challenge authorities face in protecting victims from such persistent offenders.