Texts to landlord 'vicious' - Judge

A 30-year-old Londonderry man has received a suspended sentence after he admitted sending "vicious" text messages to his landlord threatening to kill him.

Steven William Moore, of Winchester Park, admitted making the threats between February 12 and 13 last year when he appeared at the Crown Court on Tuesday.

The court heard that in a 24-hour period Moore, who was in a dispute with his landlord, sent messages stating, “Check under your van,” and, “I know where you live and the boys know.” Other texts included threats to break up his house and his legs.

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One text said, “You’re so dead”, and, “You're going to be found in a ditch.”

Judge Piers Grant said the texts were “vicious, unpleasant and nasty” and said the allusion to paramilitaries made the case more serious.

He said while reports suggested Moore had a personality disorder one specialist had said that he was more intelligent than he pretended to be and acted the way he thought people wanted him to to avoid responsibility.

Judge Grant described the offences as an example of “mischief and wickedness.”

Moore was sentenced to two years in prison suspended for three years and warned that this was his last chance.