A MUM-of-four who has been given "chance after chance" by the courts faces prison time for her latest crimes if appropriate community punishment can't be found for her.
Kelly Humphreys, of Australia Street in Ponciau, appeared at Mold Crown Court on Monday morning to be sentenced.
The 34-year-old had been convicted at previous hearings of driving whilst disqualified and uninsured, as well as two counts of breaching a restraining order and assault - all of which took place earlier this year.
Emmalyne Downing, prosecuting, told the court that on May 7, police stopped a red Citroen motor vehicle on the A55 at Colwyn Bay.
The defendant was driving the vehicle and claimed she had her licence returned following a driving ban.
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But subsequent checks showed she remained banned until July 11 and needed to take an extended retest before she could drive legally.
Regarding the assault and breach of restraining orders, the court heard the victims were Humphreys' ex-partner Paul Williams and Mr Williams' present partner Nicola Griffiths.
A restraining order was granted by the courts last year to prevent Humphreys from approaching or contacting either of them until 2025.
But at around 7pm on February 3, the victims were sat in their friend's camper van when the door opened, revealing the defendant.
She grabbed Ms Griffiths and pulled her out of the vehicle.
Ms Griffiths hit the defendant in the face, but Humphreys responded by grabbing her hair and clawing at her face, telling her: "I'm going to gouge your eyes out."
Ms Williams had "extensive but superficial" scratches on her face.
The court heard the defendant has six previous convictions for 19 offences, including: assaults against emergency workers, breaches of non-molestation orders and battery.
John Wyn Williams, defending, said with regards to the offences against Ms Griffiths and Mr Williams, there had been "an element of provocation," but she nevertheless accepted she was in breach of the order.
"She was in a relationship with Paul Williams for some 14 years which ended in 2019," he explained.
"That's when her life spiralled out of control. In 2020 she went to Hafan Wen to detoxify and it seems she has turned her life around since then.
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"She had worked for the NHS for 14 years before the ending of that relationship as well."
Mr Wyn Williams told the Judge his client had made a "mistake" with regards to the driving offences, and had believed her ban had ended.
But Judge Rhys Rowlands rejected the notion, adding: "She tried her hand and thought she was going to get away with this - she knew full well she was disqualified."
The Judge also expressed his concern about how best to punish Humphreys in this case - given the offences put her in breach of a suspended sentence and suitable community-based punishment had not been put forward by the probation service.
He said the court has been asked many times to weigh the consequences for a defendant's children into the sentence, but in the case of Humphreys she had been given "chance after chance," and not to punish her would make a "laughing stock" of the justice system.
He said: "No-one wants to see the mother of four young children go to prison; but I am afraid she richly deserves it from where I am sitting.
"The number of breaches she has had which have not resulted in activation - and now this one.
"The ordinary person in Wrexham is going to look at this and think: it's a complete nonsense - what is the point in giving someone a chance if they offend again and again, and the court won't do anything about it because she's the mother of young children?
"It makes a laughing stock of the whole system if there's no punishment. I'm not simply going to do that in a million years."
The sentence was adjourned to Thursday in order for further options to be assessed by the Probation Service.
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