Man led weeping from the dock after admitting threatening to kill lover

A dad who admitted in court to threatening to kill his lover was led weeping from the dock after hearing he would be detained behind bars.

Homeless Horace Brooks, 40, broke down in tears when told by a district judge he would be kept locked up behind until his later sentencing.

The defendant, who is from the Caribbean, pleaded guilty to making the threat and to charges of stalking and causing criminal damage.

He issued the chilling warning in a message on Sunday, August 27, a day after the woman ended their relationship after discovering he had allegedly cheated on her.

Brooks also damaged her car and dismantled wiring from her CCTV system in retaliation for her booting him out of her home.

Prosecutor Paul Anderson told South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court: “What you have here is a relationship that has broken down.

“She makes a statement to the police that it had been an on-off relationship throughout because of her saying the defendant had been unfaithful to her.

“She had tried to end the relationship but when she did, she was persuaded to get back into it because he had nowhere to live.

“She then did end the relationship due to being aware there was another female involved.”

Mr Anderson said the woman allowed Brookes to spend the Saturday night with her to avoid confrontation and he left the next day.

But later that day, she saw him on CCTV exiting his car with a plank of wood and damaging the security system’s wiring.

She then found a front tyre on her car was flat – and a text message arrived which stated, “Believe me, I’m going to kill you”.

Another added, “It’s not going to end well for you”, followed by, “I’ll kill you and go and sit in prison”.

Tom Morgan, defending Brooks, who has no previous convictions and has lived in the UK for five years, said: “He accepts that his response to the breakdown was immature.

“The damage to the car was, effectively, a petulant act. He also unplugged the CCTV that he had installed, there’s nothing more malicious than that.

“If there’s anything that can be said about the threat to kill, he tells me that he means her no harm.”

District Judge Zoe Passfield refused a bail applicaiton and told Brooks he will be sentenced at Sunderland Magistrates’ Court on Monday, September 18.