A stalker has been jailed after he sent his ex-partner a gangsta rap style video in which threated to stab her had ‘put her in the boot’.
John Dunbar also sent the terrified victim a second video showing a man moving the bolt action of a real .22 rifle which police discovered had been stolen in a burglary near Berry Pomeroy the previous day.
His ex-partner was so frightened by the threats that she had to move from her home in Dartmouth to a place of safety and told police that she feared for her life of herself and her young daughter.
The stalking started when Dunbar was in a dispute with the woman about access to the girl, who was his biological daughter. He also made threats to friends of his former partner when she was visiting them.
The video in which he threatened her with the knife showed his arm holding a large hunting knife and making stabbing and slashing motions while a gangsta rap video played in the background.
He could be heard adding his own lyrics in which he said ‘come through and I’m putting you in the boot, ain’t got a clue’. Other messages on Snapchat, Facebook and voicenotes made further threats.
Others read: “Watch me, I’m going to deal with you” ; “You picked the wrong guy to play games with, mate.” ; and “Go on, be a little grass, slag of the year.”
Dunbar, aged 30, of Winner Street, Paignton, admitted stalking and an unrelated charge of assaulting an emergency worker and was jailed for three years by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.
He imposed an indefinite restraining order banning any contact with his ex-partner and her friend and banning him from going to their homes in Dartmouth and Newton Abbot.
He told Dunbar: “You engaged in stalking behaviour of which the most significant part was the sending of videos accompanied by verbal threats. One showed a man with a large hunting knife and making stabbing movements while accompanied by menaces.
“It was seen not only by your ex-partner but by her friend and her 20-year-old daughter and clearly caused upset to them as well. The most serious video showed someone holding and cocking a rifle which was in fact a weapon stolen not long before.
“It led the victim to fear for her life and take temporary alternative accommodation as a precaution. This was conduct intended to maximise fear and distress. She felt haunted by the way she had to live her life when you were stalking her.”
Mr Herc Ashworth, prosecuting, said Dunbar sent the messages and videos between June 9 and July 6 this year. He was on bail at the time for assaulting a police inspector who he punched in the face while trying to evade arrest for allegedly buying drugs in an alleyway in Paignton.
The video of the gun was so clear that police were able to read the serial number on the stock and identify it as a genuine .22 rifle which was stolen in a burglary near Paignton the day before the clip was sent.,
His ex-partner wrote an impact statement saying she and her daughter were living in fear and saying she just wanted it to stop.,
Mr Ed Bailey, defending, said Dunbar’s ex had offered to let him stay at her home when he was released from a five year jail sentence for drug dealing in February but the problems had started when she asked him to leave.
He said the threats were made in the context of a dispute over access to a child and may have arisen from Dunbar’s mental health problems which include anxiety and a personality disorder.