This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/wales/south_west/6154116.stm
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Singer guilty of hotel gun threat | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Folk singer Meic Stevens has been found guilty of threatening to shoot a Pembrokeshire hotel manager when she refused him another drink. | |
| A police armed response unit was called and an air pistol recovered from the room at the Old Cross Hotel in St David's where he was staying. | A police armed response unit was called and an air pistol recovered from the room at the Old Cross Hotel in St David's where he was staying. |
| Duty manager Victoria Skeats told Haverfordwest magistrates Mr Stevens had also used offensive language. | Duty manager Victoria Skeats told Haverfordwest magistrates Mr Stevens had also used offensive language. |
| Stevens, 64, of Cardiff, denied a charge of using threatening behaviour. | |
| Ms Skeats told the hearing that on the evening of 5 March this year Stevens - a fixture on the Welsh language folk music scene since the 1960s - was dining in the hotel restaurant. | |
| He called me a racist and said I was finished in Pembrokeshire Victoria Skeats | He called me a racist and said I was finished in Pembrokeshire Victoria Skeats |
| When he finished his meal, he moved to the bar area and Ms Skeats told him she would not serve him any more alcohol. | |
| She said he "snapped" and was drunk and using offensive language. | She said he "snapped" and was drunk and using offensive language. |
| "He called me a racist and said I was finished in Pembrokeshire," Ms Skeats said. | "He called me a racist and said I was finished in Pembrokeshire," Ms Skeats said. |
| "He said he was going to blow my brains out with a gun he had upstairs. I was absolutely terrified - I was just sick to my stomach." | "He said he was going to blow my brains out with a gun he had upstairs. I was absolutely terrified - I was just sick to my stomach." |
| During cross-examination, Wyn Rees, defending, put it to her that she had said to Mr Stevens: "Why are all you Welshies racist?" | During cross-examination, Wyn Rees, defending, put it to her that she had said to Mr Stevens: "Why are all you Welshies racist?" |
| 'Relaxing meal' | 'Relaxing meal' |
| He put it to her that it had just been a row between the two of them and she was never threatened with a gun. She denied both claims. | He put it to her that it had just been a row between the two of them and she was never threatened with a gun. She denied both claims. |
| Taking to the witness stand himself, Stevens said he had been in his native Pembrokeshire on holiday and had enjoyed a relaxing meal when Ms Skeats insulted him. | |
| "She was very aggressive. I just thought she was a weirdo," he said. | "She was very aggressive. I just thought she was a weirdo," he said. |
| "I was really angry. A girl was having a go at me. I probably did swear at her, but I never threatened to shoot her. It's crazy." | "I was really angry. A girl was having a go at me. I probably did swear at her, but I never threatened to shoot her. It's crazy." |
| He said he and his girlfriend then went upstairs only to be awoken in the early hours. | He said he and his girlfriend then went upstairs only to be awoken in the early hours. |
| "A voice said 'this is Sergeant Kelly, Dyfed-Powys Police. The hotel is surrounded by armed police'," he said. | |
| They (police) charged in, one had a shield. Two had pistols, one had a pistol against my head and the other pointed it at my heart Meic Stevens | They (police) charged in, one had a shield. Two had pistols, one had a pistol against my head and the other pointed it at my heart Meic Stevens |
| "I just thought it was a joke." | "I just thought it was a joke." |
| He said following a second conversation with the police negotiator, officers burst into his room. | He said following a second conversation with the police negotiator, officers burst into his room. |
| "They charged in, one had a shield. Two had pistols, one had a pistol against my head and the other pointed it at my heart." | "They charged in, one had a shield. Two had pistols, one had a pistol against my head and the other pointed it at my heart." |
| Stevens was handcuffed and taken to Haverfordwest Police Station for questioning. | |
| The singer told the court that a gas-operated Walther air pistol found in his room belonged to his son who had been using it during the holiday. | The singer told the court that a gas-operated Walther air pistol found in his room belonged to his son who had been using it during the holiday. |
| Under cross-examination he said the case against him was "a pack of lies, concocted by the police with the witnesses". | Under cross-examination he said the case against him was "a pack of lies, concocted by the police with the witnesses". |
| "I think the whole thing is disgusting. I just feel I'm being stitched up," he said. | "I think the whole thing is disgusting. I just feel I'm being stitched up," he said. |
| Magistrates also heard from Gwilym Roberts, a holidaymaker who called at the hotel with his wife. He said he witnessed Mr Stevens' gun threats. | Magistrates also heard from Gwilym Roberts, a holidaymaker who called at the hotel with his wife. He said he witnessed Mr Stevens' gun threats. |
| He said he became so alarmed that he, his wife and Ms Skeats locked themselves in the bar when Mr Stevens went upstairs and waited for police. | He said he became so alarmed that he, his wife and Ms Skeats locked themselves in the bar when Mr Stevens went upstairs and waited for police. |