FACEBOOK advertises itself as a place for friends to connect, old friends to reconnect, even a place for new friends to be made.
Not everyone uses it this way.
For some, it's a spotlight to show others just how big, just how hard, just how dangerous you are.
Donald Pemberton was a particular fan of the social networking site.
Instead of happy family photos and pictures of holidays, Pemberton's timeline is littered with images of him, beer can clutched in one hand, a middle finger on display or an attempt at a gang-symbol.
Sometimes the pictures are of him with his arms around his friends' shoulders, the can and the finger or two still on show.
On occasion, the can is replaced by a weapon. One image from his timeline even showed him waving a knife back and forth as he sits nonchalantly next to a friend.
One December 27 he changed his profile picture to one of him sitting side by side with Ryan Williams. Pemberton was showing off his L O V E tattoo on his fingers – and his ACAB [All Coppers Are B****ards] on his knuckles – while Williams was giving the photographer the finger.
At 9.59pm four days later – on New Year's Eve – Pemberton changed his profile picture again. But this time it was just him with his blue T-shirt, his gold bracelet and a large meat cleaver grasped in his right hand.
Around 6.45pm on New Years Eve, a young Plymouth man called Dale Hewitt was made aware he was being threatened on the social networking site.
In response, his friends told him on his Facebook site to keep his "nose clean and just chill" while others urged him "Calm down Dale! You don't wanna end up in a cell tonight love".
Dale was angry and replied: "I'll kill any **** that says there going through my Mum's door so ******* bring it Don Pemberton". Minutes later he urged "all my haters write to me, ready and ******* waiting".
Pemberton was busy with his own Facebook, changing his profile picture at 10.58pm.
This latest picture showed him bare-chested, brandishing tattoos on his right arm and his conflicting LOVE and ACAB tattoos on his left hand.
In his right hand he brandishes one of his brother's "collectable" weapons – a huge machete.
By 11.33pm Dale asked his friends where Don lived adding "I'll hit him before he does me".
Just 11 minutes later, Pemberton began writing on Dale's Facebook page, stating "Yh I will ya mug I'm gonna get ya ya ******* fairy."
Dale responded, noting "look at da state ov ya joke puttin pics up wid blades to make urself look big grow da **** up n stop talking black u lil wnabe gangster."
In response at 11.50pm Pemberton wrote: "Haha well watch when I am in front of ya with barrel to your chest see how much of braveheart u are den init big boy"
A few minutes later, Dale's mother – whom Dale claimed Pemberton had threatened online – joined the discourse, calling him a "lil boy".
The mother told Pemberton she was at home, while telling Dale she could "handle lil mugs like that".
When asked his whereabouts by Dale, at 12.03am, Pemberton replied: "Tameton (sic) foliot u little waste n so **** ya mum she aint my mum so I don't give a **** let's have a meet."
Pemberton continued his tirade of abuse at both Dale and his mother for the next few minutes, even urging Dale to come to meet him, adding "U gonna grant me wish an come to me pleaaaaseeeee bruv I will pay for ya taxi".
When Dale claimed he knew where Pemberton's mother lived, saying he would see him soon, Pemberton replied at 12.12am: "Haha I hope u do bro I'm gonna stab ya liver in swear on her life and she got cancer, when I see ya I'm giving the best I got ya skid mark".
He quickly followed this with: "U can act hard but we'll see when I'm in front of ya thought u was coming to me? What's the matter did one ya boys tell ya you get battered if ya comae to me ya wet ****" before adding "**** off ya donut".
By now it was 12.17am, and somewhere in the Tamerton Foliot Pemberton was angrily hitting the screen of his mobile phone.
He made the final change to his profile picture, putting up a mirror-shot of himself, wearing a Addidas top, his hood up and a mask across his lower face.
His hand was up by his face in a "gun" pose.
Moments later he was back on his phone responding to comments by Dale's mother, who derided the youth's threats.
At 12.26am he told her to "watch" while replied "mug".
Pemberton went on to ask why she was getting involved, which made her own son "look like a goon".
Another relative of Dale's joined in the barrage against Pemberton, saying he was going to head to his home. The friend wrote: I want to know where he lives coz the ******** fools is getting a visit has he had any ******** experience in hurting someone with a butter knife let alone a knife/cleaver/or any sort of blade, I want to know where he is TONIGHT ******* ****ed off with kids thinking they'll wave a blade around & get resect for it by many, well in my time that **** got people propa chopped up text where I can find this ******* mug".
As expected Pemberton replied to Dale's friend at 12.35am, telling him to keep his nose out or he would get "battered".
At 12.55am Pemberton replied to more derision from Dale's mother with more insults.
His last Facebook response came on January 1 at 1.01am when he wrote "Yhyh".
The jury were told that during his aggressive exchanges with Mr Hewitt, Pemberton was also embroiled in another war of words with Kane Swabey.
Pemberton revealed that Mr Swabey had since deleted all his Facebook comments, leaving only Pemberton's responses.
In addition, Pemberton told the jury he was also in contact with Mr Swabey and Mr Hewitt via BBM (Blackberry Messenger) which could not be archived or tracked, causing these messages to effectively disappear.
He claimed Mr Swabey asked to meet him in Budshead Road, but added that his former friend was known to him to carry weapons.
Pemberton told the court: "He said he was on his way to my mums. He used to be my friend and knows where my mum lives."
In reply to Mr Swabey posts, asking where he was, Pemberton responded in turn in the run up to his departure from his brother's home in Tamerton Foliot on New Year's Day
His replies included: "I said Tamerton Foliot Kane you little ****head.
"Come here braveheart.
"Mate shuttup you grass.
"I know what you're about you scouse wannabe.
"Haha, I will be there in 25."
Less than half an hour later police were receiving calls from frightened revellers who had been threatened by Williams with a knife. Moments later the emergency services received a flurry of calls from Tanis's group, calling for paramedics to treat those injured by the attacks.
The ambulance service said three ambulances and two rapid response vehicles were requested at 1.39am.
This was not the first time Pemberton used Facebook to self-aggrandise his tough-guy credentials.
In January 2014 he appeared in court after he admitted attacking a man in Union Street on Christmas Eve.
Early on January 13, using a Blackberry phone, he noted "court ina min wish me luck x"
By the afternoon he announced he had "got 150 comunity (sic) service and 260 quid fine lol they was talking about custody sentances (sic) and that haha xx"
Answering questions he admitted "abh" – actual bodily harm.
Three days later he posted The Herald's report on his Facebook page, which was headlined "Teen too drunk to remember attack is spared a jail sentence".
The report noted how after the unprovoked assault where he punched a man, he became aggressive to two response officers. The report stated how one officer deployed his Taser and Pemberton 'tried to grab the Taser out of his hand and the officer suffered an injured thumb.'
However, in his Facebook post he claimed to his friends: "It said in the paper that the po po tried deploying a taser as I tried to grab it! It was already deployed and stuck my chest mate I got tazered twice haha."
In response, one of his female Facebook friends criticised Pemberton, telling him: "It's not something to be proud of don"
Predictably, Pemberton replied: "Shat ap [shut up], I'm well chuffed"
Undeterred, the girl continued her criticism: "What, cause you made the paper for something stupid?"
Charmless to a fault, Pemberton snapped back: "O shat up [shut up] you twat".
By comparison Williams' Facebook page appears barren. His only entry for September was to post an image of a handgun, while on December 31 he posted: "loves my girl so much even tho i am the goat in the relationship....... horny as a muthaaa***** constantly !!"
Williams then adds his girlfriend's name – Suzie Pemberton, sister of his co-defendant.
↧