A man told the police he held an air rifle to his wife’s head to “shut her up” because he was sick of her nagging.
Dean Prosser had been drinking when he pointed the firearm directly at his wife following an argument while his children and grandchildren were at home.
In his police interview, he described the rifle as a “children’s gun” and told officers: “I wanted her to stop nagging me.”
Cardiff Crown Court heard the incident happened at the couple’s home in Pontllanfraith in the early hours of Sunday, February 16.
Rachel Knight, prosecuting, said Prosser and his wife – who had been married for a long time – went out to the Black Prince pub in Ynysddu on Saturday evening.
The court heard Prosser became “emotional” when they got home and played Please Forgive Me by Bryan Adams on YouTube.
Prosecutors said that song was their first dance at their wedding, but his wife said she was feeling tired, unwell and not in the mood to dance.
In a statement read out at court, their daughter said: “My dad started to go off one, saying: ‘You don’t love me.’”
His daughter said she cooked them pizza and her dad seemed “fine”, then her mum walked out of the front door.
The court heard it was cold, wet and windy during Storm Dennis and Prosser's wife was “soaking wet” when the police subsequently arrived.
Prosser was heard to say: “If she’s not home in five minutes, I’m locking the front door.”
Prosecutors said his wife came back and Prosser told her she could not go upstairs until they had “sorted things out”.
His daughter described hearing her mother say: “No Dean, please stop it.” She added: “I saw my dad pick up a gun. He pointed it at her head.”
She said she heard a click and assumed he was loading the gun as she tried to get between them. The victim was described as being “petrified”.
His daughter added: “I was crying my eyes out. I managed to push him away. Everything is a blur after that because I was so frightened.”
She said her brother intervened and she heard her father fire the gun into the corner of the room as she went upstairs to check on her young children.
The court heard his wife followed them upstairs and told them they needed to get out of the house, but their daughter did not want to take her children into the storm.
She described seeing her father with “a load of tablets”, stating he would take an overdose. Prosser's son called 999 at around 3am and his father was unconscious when the police arrived.
Police took the defendant to hospital, but he did not consent to stay there and stated he felt fit to be interviewed later that day.
He told officers he had not been sleeping well and got the gun out “in a temper”. He accepted pointing it at his wife for “a few seconds” and claimed he did not intend to hurt her.
The defendant stated he thought it would “shut her up”, adding: “I wanted her to stop nagging me.”
He said he drank eight pints and three shots, but was not drunk and knew what he was doing.
Prosser accepted “smashing the house up” in the past.
He stated he saw his daughter holding his grandchild and realised what he was doing was wrong, so he put the gun away.
The defendant stated he took “a handful” of tablets because he wanted to show his wife what life would be like without him.
The court heard it was a Russian Baikal .177.
Prosser's daughter said there were two guns behind the television, adding: “As far as I know, they have not been touched for years.”
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Prosecutors said he had 11 previous offences on his record, all committed at least 18 years ago, but all relevant as they related to causing damage and using or threatening violence.
The court heard he was given a conditional discharge in 2002 for assaulting his wife, causing her actual bodily harm, during an incident of domestic violence.
Dean Prosser, 48, from St Sannan Road in Pontllanfraith, Blackwood, admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
He entered a basis of plea, which was accepted by the Crown, stating the weapon was not loaded, the pellets were kept elsewhere and he only pointed it for a few seconds.
Steven Donoghue, defending, pointed out his client made “full and frank” admissions, even when his wife declined to support the prosecution.
He said the rifle was not held to her head for long, adding: “I accept it must have been absolutely terrifying for her, clearly.”
A pre-sentence report concluded Dean Prosser represented a low risk of re-offending. The court heard his family still support him.
Mr Donoghue added: “He is terribly ashamed and sorry for doing what he did that night. He has been out of trouble for nearly 20 years.”
Judge Daniel Williams jailed Dean Prosser for 10 months and made an order for the air rifle to be destroyed.
If you, or someone you know, have been affected by domestic violence, visit the Live Fear Free website or call the helpline on 0808 80 10 800.
