Hotel worker threatened to torch business in early-morning attack (original) (raw)

A disgruntled employee threatened to burn down the hotel where he worked. Police subsequently found the would-be arsonist at the hotel along with lighters and a can of petrol.

Swansea Crown Court heard the catalyst for the threats seemed to be an issue at work for which employee Hefin Rosser could have been facing a disciplinary procedure. A judge told the 47-year-old his actions had been "incredibly stupid" and said they had caused huge inconvenience to the hotel and to the people staying there.

Emily Bennett, prosecuting, said the threats to burn down the Ivy Bush hotel in Carmarthen were made on the night of July 16 this year in a series of phone calls and messages to a manager of the business, to the police, and to the defendant's own father. In the calls Rosser said he was going to set fire to the hotel at 3am the following day. The court heard that in one of the messages to a manager the defendant had said he was going to pour petrol into the hotel reception and set fire to it, adding that he was not a coward and was going to do it.

At 11.45pm that night police officers found the defendant's car in the park behind the hotel and Rosser was found nearby with a bottle of wine and two cigarette lighters. Police also recovered a petrol can. The court heard officers suspected the defendant had driven to the hotel and carried out a roadside breath test which showed 96mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath with the legal limit being 35mg. The defendant was arrested and told officers he wanted to die and "take the whole f****** place with me".

Rosser was taken to the Dafen custody suite in Llanelli where he repeatedly refused to take an evidential breath test. The prosecutor said when the defendant was asked whether he knew why he had been arrested he replied he did, adding: "My intention was to burn down the Ivy Bush." He subsequently answered "no comment" to all questions asked in interview.

Hefin Rosser, of Carway, Carmarthenshire had previously pleaded guilty to making threats to damage property, having an article with intent to damage property, and failing to provide a specimen for analysis when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter here.

Alex Scott, for Rosser, said the defendant had a history of poor mental health with a depressive disorder and a possible borderline personality disorder though he said his client was not putting those matters forward as an excuse for his behaviour on the night in question. He said Rosser's actions had been an "extreme overreaction to a relatively trivial matter" at work which had led to talk of disciplinary procedures, which the defendant felt was unfair. He added the defendant had been spending his time on remand in prison productively, completing courses on anger management and alcohol abuse and working as an orderly in the library.

Judge Paul Thomas KC told Rosser that after he had been reprimanded at work he had "grossly overreacted in quite a bizarre way" by issuing threats to burn down the hotel while he was in it. He said the defendant's actions had been "incredibly stupid" and had caused huge inconvenience to the hotel and its residents. The judge said he had to determine how much the threats were "histrionic attention-seeking" on the part of Rosser and how much they represented his "constant and settled intention" to burn the hotel down. And he said given the time the defendant had spent on remand awaiting sentence, which would count against the sentence,the question for him was whether he should he make Rosser serve would would in reality be a few more months in custody or impose a more constructive alternative.

With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas Rosser was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course, to abide by a 120-day alcohol monitoring requirement, and to do 100 hours of unpaid work in the community. The defendant was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.

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