‘abusive’ | 

Arrest warrant for woman who pestered cops with over 150 emails in just three months

Samantha Montgomery was due to defend herself at court on Friday but the 46-year-old failed to attend

Today at 18:08

A judge has issued an arrest warrant for a woman who sent two detectives more than 150 emails in three months.

Samantha Montgomery, from Ballynadrone Meadows in Magheralin, was due to defend herself at Craigavon Magistrates Court on Friday, but the 46-year-old failed to attend.

With the case proceeding regardless, District Judge Bernie Kelly invited the prosecution to open their case.

The court was told that in December last year a detective constable told his line manager he had received “concerning emails” from Montgomery the previous week.

The officer had been sent 37 messages, “around a dozen [of which] were extremely abusive and caused him a great deal of anxiety and harm”.

After the detective constable referred the matter to his line manager, he contacted Montgomery and asked her to stop, but then began receiving emails from the defendant.

Over the course of five days in February, one officer received 54 emails and the other 66, none of which either of them responded to.

When the police interviewed Montgomery, she gave “no comment” replies to all questions.

She was later charged with two counts of harassment and two counts of persistent and improper use of a telecommunication network “for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety” to the officers.

Having heard the prosecution’s case, District Judge Bernie Kelly told the hearing: “I’m convicting on all four [counts].

“There’s persistent use of a pubic network system to cause needless anxiety, inconvenience or annoyance and there is also harassment.”

He added that with Montgomery not in attendance, he would “issue a warrant for her to be produced to court for sentencing”.