A MOURNER has been up before the magistrates after making an offensive phone call to a man in Hereford.
Matthew Rumsey entered a guilty plea to one count of sending a communication of an offensive or indecent nature when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford in March.
The victim, who knew Rumsey by sight only, had received a missed call and a voicemail message on January 20, prosecutor Melanie Winterflood said.
The message mentioned the victim's sexuality and contained abusive language, with Rumsey making mention of smashing the victim's teeth in.
"He was frightened and did not know why Rumsey had left that message or how he had got his number," Miss Winterflood said.
The victim had received further missed calls in the following days, the court heard, and called police after spotting someone who he believed to be Rumsey outside his house.
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George Cousins, for Rumsey, said that the 41-year-old had been arrested for harassment but that nothing had come of that, and that he appeared before the court for the offensive message charge only.
"This came about because he had been down at The Lines, where very recently his friend was found dead, to pay his respects" Mr Cousins said.
"One of the people there was the ex-partner of the victim, and they told him that the victim had been spreading rumours about him, saying he takes drugs and various things about his mother that do not need to be repeated.
"He then gets the phone number off him and makes the phone call. Nothing further happens, and he does not want to meet the victim and does not have an axe to grind against him. He was just in a bad frame of mind at the time and it was definitely a one-off."
Rumsey, of Golden Post, Hereford, was handed a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £185 and a £26 victim surcharge.
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