Drunk Cambridgeshire man who stormed ex-girlfriend's house armed with weapon is sentenced

Brian Condron, of Station Road in Oakington, split up with the woman a fortnight before the offence took place.

The victim in the case ended their 18-month relationship due to his abusive behaviour.

However Condron, 44, turned up at the woman’s house in Cambridge in the early hours of August 12 last year (2018), Cambridge Crown Court heard.

At around 2.30am Condron called her and told her he was coming round. Hoping to avoid any confrontation, the woman called a taxi and went to her friend’s house.

She returned home at around 4am, noticing that certain lights were on that she’d previously switched off.

After making sure Condron wasn’t in the house, she plugged in her phone to charge it in case she had to call for help.

She then went upstairs but when she came down, Condron stormed in through the back door.

He was holding a metal pole in his left hand, the court heard, and punched a hole through a wooden door with his fist.

Condron continuously screamed at her, much of it incoherent, and accused her of being with a man whilst she was out.

He then entered the lounge where she was standing and smashed the metal pole into two chandeliers, causing one of them to fall from the ceiling.

As he did so, he kept screaming ‘Who is he? I hear you’, the court heard.

Condron then went outside and the woman followed him, where he continued waving the metal pole around.

He carried on screaming and threatened to hit her and her car with the pole. Condron fled on his bike and the woman then called the police.

He was arrested four days later (16 August) while sat in a VW Golf in Oakington.

The car was full of bags of clothes and tools and his passport was on the front passenger seat, the court heard.

In police interview Condron admitted he was drunk when he went to his ex-girlfriend’s house – having drank seven cans of lager since 9pm and taken another four with him.

He claimed he walked in through an open back door and picked up the metal pole as he ‘hoped another man was in the house’.

Condron said he ‘wasn’t thinking straight’ and caused the damage to the house out of anger.

He previously pleaded guilty to charges of affray and criminal damage at Cambridge Crown Court.

Condron was sentenced yesterday, Wednesday January 9, where he was handed 12 months in prison, suspended for 24 months.

He was also ordered to carry out a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and pay £1,200 in court costs.

DC Paul Evans said: “Despite having been in a relationship with Condron, the victim in this case was understandably terrified by his actions on the evening of the offences.

“Condron’s previous offending suggests a pattern of violence against others and this sentence shows how seriously such crimes are taken by both the police and the courts.

“Hopefully these court proceedings will bring some comfort to the victim and allow her to move on with the rest of her life.”