A man who assaulted his ex-partner and hurled her dog out of an upstairs window has had an appeal against his sentence thrown out.
Nathan James Kendrick, 25, from Wrexham admitted common assault against his former partner Lucy Florence Lewis and throwing her Yorkshire terrier-cross from his bedroom window.
The offence took place in July 2017 but Kendrick of Wheatsheaf Lane, Gwersyllt had only been charged on January 8 this year, two days before the legal limit to arrest him ran out.
He received an 18 week sentence on January 23 at Mold Crown Court for common assault, after pushing his former partner over three times and almost into a passing car, and a further 18 weeks to run concurrently for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. The dog escaped injury but Miss Lewis's children, who witnessed the attack, were reduced to tears.
At the appeal Matthew Curtis, representing Kendrick said the sentence of four months was at the upper end of the scale and his guilty pleas, lack of offending over the past three years and the police's delay of 18 months between the offence and charging should be counted in his favour.
He asked the panel, consisting of Judge Rhys Rowlands and two magistrates, to re-sentence the defendant and suggested a non-custodial sentence such as a community penalty might be more appropriate.
Dafydd Roberts for the Crown told the court Kendrick had 21 previous convictions for 39 offences, including common assaults, grievous bodily harm, possessing drugs with intent to supply and two counts of breaching a restraining order.
After retiring to consider the details of the case, Judge Rowlands said the panel upheld the original sentence.
He said: "This was a particularly unpleasant incident. It took place at night and involved the targeting of a female partner.
"Not only was it in front of his former partner but in front of her small children.
"He took the dog home then threw it out of his window in front of the children. It was an attempt at controlling behaviour - throwing his weight around to, in the vernacular, show her who was boss.
"Plainly the victim had the fear of serious injury in this case. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this sentence. The sentence remains 18 weeks."
