THE boyfriend of a woman who has gone missing in Spain was jailed last year over a nightclub fight, it has emerged.
Spanish police have been looking for Simon Corner for the past fortnight since he vanished after being questioned about the whereabouts of Lisa Brown.
Corner, from Liverpool, was sentenced to three months prison in Gibraltar last year for possessing an offensive weapon. The 33-year-old was also convicted of common assault, threats to kill and disorderly conduct in a police station.
Corner, who is now believed to have left Spain, is thought to have met Ms Brown after leaving prison.
The revelation about Corner’s criminal past will lead to heightened concerns for the safety of the mother-of-one, who is originally from Alexandria, Dunbartonshire.
Investigators have admitted all "hypotheses are being considered" although they are still treating Ms Brown's disappearance officially as a missing persons inquiry.
She was reported missing on November 9 five days after police say she was last seen at her home in Guadiaro near Sotogrande.
Workers at the port, where Corner has a 30-foot sailing boat, have been told to alert police if they see him.
He vanished around two weeks ago after Civil Guard officers leading the search for Ms Brown arrived to take him away in an unmarked police car as he repaired the vessel with friends. He is understood to have been questioned as a witness before disappearing.
It has now emerged that Corner was convicted at Gibraltar Magistrates Court last summer over an altercation at Dusk nightclub in the British territory's marina area on May 31 last year.
A source close to the case said: “A witness told police he saw a man in the bar area holding a knife and the bouncer took it off him.
“The offensive weapon turned out to be a lock knife.
“He threatened to kill a police officer after he was held.”
A court source in Gibraltar said: “Simon Corner was sentenced to three months for possessing an offensive weapon.
“No separate penalty was imposed for the other crimes he was convicted of.”
Magistrates in Gibraltar regularly resort to the practice of imposing NSPs - short for No Separate Penalty. The device is employed when a defendant stands convicted of several offences but the wrongdoing can be dealt with by sentencing for the main offences.
Corner is thought to have served two-thirds of his sentence at Windmill Prison, the Rock’s only jail.
Royal Gibraltar Police are helping Spanish police with their inquiries because Ms Brown worked for Ladbrokes on the Rock until August and was due to start a new job on November 6, two days after Spanish police say she was last seen.
Lisa’s son Marco, eight, is being looked by his dad Tony Tomillero in Spain.
He reported her missing when she failed to pick the youngster up from school.
A Civil Guard spokesman, asked about Corner, said: “Our investigation into Lisa Brown’s disappearance remains open and all avenues are being explored.
“I cannot say anything else at the moment.”
Inspector William Gomez of the Royal Gibraltar Police said: “We don’t know his present whereabouts.
“He was last seen on or around the date of Lisa’s alleged disappearance.”
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