Builder, 39, jailed for kicking his dog to death launched ‘revenge attack’ on friend who fell out with him over his animal cruelty by drunkenly smashing his BMW and setting fire to his shed
- Matthew Benjamin targeted Lee Miller after animal lover refused to speak to him
- Thug burgled his home before going on a destructive, alcohol fuelled rampage
- Alcoholic was drinking between ’10 and 15 pints a day’ at the time of the attack
A builder who was jailed for kicking his dog to death launched a ‘revenge attack’ on a friend who felt out with him over his animal cruelty by smashing the windscreen of his BMW and setting fire to his shed.
Matthew Benjamin, 39, turned on Lee Miller in September last year after the animal lover refused to speak to him after he killed Staffordshire bull terrier Diesel in a drunken rage.
The thug was jailed for 17 weeks in 2019 for slaughtering the defenceless pet, with a housemate recalling how he overheard him shout ‘this f***ing dog is going to die’ before kicking him ‘more than one hundred times’.
After burgling Mr Miller’s home, Benjamin went on a destructive, alcohol-fuelled rampage, but was stopped by police in his car nearby after neighbours spotted the fire.
Benjamin, of Shirenewton, near Chepstow in Gwent, admitted arson, burglary, criminal damage, drink driving and driving while disqualified and was jailed for 22 months.
Matthew Benjamin, 39, turned on Lee Miller in September last year after the animal lover refused to speak to him after he killed Staffordshire bull terrier Diesel in a drunken rage
Karl Williams, defending, said his client claimed the fire had been accidental: ‘The defendant said, ‘I dropped a fag butt. When I left the shed, it wasn’t on fire.’
Benjamin used to run a successful building firm employing 20 people a day but was declared bankrupt in 2018 and turned to abusing alcohol.
Mr Williams said: ‘The defendant was drinking between 10 and 15 pints a day. He was working seven days a week between 6am and 7am.’
Mr Williams told the court one of Benjamin’s former girlfriends had been murdered by her partner in 2017, who then killed himself.
Judge Lloyd-Clarke told the defendant: ‘It was a revenge attack on your own admission. The premises and victim were deliberately targeted.’
The thug was jailed for 17 weeks in 2019 for slaughtering the defenceless pet after returning home drunk from a night out
Benjamin used to run a successful building firm employing 20 people a day but was declared bankrupt in 2018 and turned to abusing alcohol
She banned him from driving for three years and 11 months and told he would have to pass an extended test.
He was also ordered to pay Mr Miller compensation.
Benjamin was jailed for 17 weeks in December 2019 after a housemate gave evidence for his vile attack on Diesel.
The witness told the court Benjamin was shouting at the pet after it urinated on the floor.
He said: ‘I heard Diesel scream and yelp. The dog seemed to be in extreme distress and pain. I could hear the dog being beaten repeatedly.’
‘Matthew said, ‘This thing is going to die.’ I think he must have kicked the dog over 100 times. He was a lovely dog who was brutally killed for no reason.’
A housemate recalled how he overheard Benjamin shout ‘this f***ing dog is going to die’ before kicking him ‘more than one hundred times’
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