Man from village near Banbury guilty of harassment and multiple cases of criminal damage to a neighbour's garden - Court Report

A Mollington man has been found guilty of harassment and six counts of criminal damage to property of two people in the village.
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John Weiniger, 72, of Main Street, Mollington, pleaded not guilty but was convicted of six counts of criminal damage to property of two people in Mollington. A seventh charge of damaging a stone front garden wall was dismissed.

He was fined a total of £600 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £170 with £775 prosecution costs. Weiniger also pleaded not guilty to harassment without violence but was convicted.

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Magistrates heard between July 11, 2020 - November7, 2020 at Mollington pursued a course of conduct which amounted to the harassment of the two people. On July 14 he dug over a flowerbed and threw dirt onto the neighbouring garden, on July 17, 2020 removed decorative stones from the flowerbed and hid them in an alleyway.

Oxford Magistrates' Court - where cases from the Banbury area are heardOxford Magistrates' Court - where cases from the Banbury area are heard
Oxford Magistrates' Court - where cases from the Banbury area are heard

On July 18, 2020, dug up turf from the flowerbed and threw into the bushes of the neighbouring property. On July 22, dug up newly planted flowers; on July 23, 2020, on the high street in Millington, dug over a flowerbed, leaving a large hole in front of the neighbouring property’s gate.

On July 31 2020 he removed paving slabs from a flowerbed, throwing them into the neighbouring garden’s bushes. On August 7, 2020,Weiniger moved his neighbour’s bins 40 feet away, leaving them partially in the road. On August 24 he attempted to photograph a woman and then stated ‘There will be trouble’.

On September 2, 2020 he covered a CCTV camera before digging over a flowerbed. On September 12, 2020 he covered a CCTV camera before moving bins. On November 6, 2020 he dug a flowerbed throwing mud onto the front lawn of the neighbouring property, damaging a turf membrane. Weiniger was fined £1,100 and ordered to pay two sums of £250 in compensation for the harassment without violence charges.

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The following cases were also heard at Oxford Magistrates’ Court:

Magistrates made an order that £10,000, seized from Waqar Ahmed, of Hilton Road, Banbury on January 17, 2022 under the Proceeds of Crime Act, be detained for a further three months. Police asking for the extension had reasonable grounds for suspecting the money was recoverable property obtained through unlawful conduct, intended for use in unlawful conduct.

Jamie McDonagh, 30, of Portal Drive South, Upper Heyford was fined £220 for breaking a 30mph speed limit on Watlington Road, Oxford. His recorded speed was 38mph. McDonagh was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £34 and £90 court costs. His driving licence was endorsed with three penalty points.

Tariq Khan, aka Tariq Mahmood Khan, 36, of Sinclair Avenue, Banbury was given a jail term of 18 weeks, suspended for 12 months, after changing his plea to guilty in respect of a charge of possessing an offensive weapon - namely a baseball bat torch - in a public place, Broad Street, Banbury on January 30, 2021. Magistrates imposed the sentence because of the severity of the offence as Khan had the ‘highly dangerous weapon’ in the footwell of his car putting the public at risk. Khan was also ordered to undertake 100 hours’ unpaid work, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £128 and prosecution costs of £200. The baton torch was forfeited to be destroyed.

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Russell John Solomon, 50, of Boxhedge Road West, Banbury was fined £230 for breaking the 40mph speed limit on the A41 at Bicester on June 24, 2021. His recorded speed was 56mph. Solomon was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £34 and court costs of £90. His driving licence was endorsed with four penalty points.

Matthew Lee Potter, 35, of Howard Road, Banbury was jailed for six weeks for assaulting a man in Banbury on May 13, 2021. Magistrates imposed the sentence because of Potter’s flagrant disregard for court orders and the offence was committed while he was serving a suspended sentence for harassment. He was given another six week sentence, to run concurrently, for threatening or abusive behaviour, also on May 13, 2021. Potter was ordered to pay £100 compensation.