Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Cannabis addict drug dealer who was caught in mother's Mercedes is spared prison by judge


A Mercedes-driving drug dealer caught with Ecstasy-type pills and cannabis has been spared prison.


Jack Hammersley-Gonsalves smoked £40 worth of cannabis a day while claiming only £56 per week in benefits.


The 20-year-old admitted dealing cannabis over a year-long period, Teesside Crown Court heard today.


He was stopped driving his mother’s Merc on Borrowby Court, Guisborough, at about 6.25pm on February 28 last year.


Officers detected a “pungent smell of cannabis”, said prosecutor Emma Atkinson.


Hammersley-Gonsalves refused to open the door and fumbled with a bag in his hand until police smashed the window and dragged him out of the car.


The bag contained less than £6 worth of cannabis, and 17 tablets of the Class A drug PMA, similar to Ecstasy, worth £69 on the street, were found in the car.


Prosecutor Emma Atkinson said the suspect’s phone carried incriminating drug-related text messages.


Hammersley-Gonsalves told police he was looking after the PMA for a friend he refused to name.


He said he panicked when stopped in the car and tried to put the cannabis into his mouth.


He told how he had been smoking cannabis since he was 14 and supplied to friends to fund his own habit.


He pleaded guilty to his first offences of supplying cannabis and possessing cannabis and PMA with intent to supply.


He was quoted as saying: “I really regret what I did. I got involved in the wrong circle. I got dragged into it.”


Julian Gaskin, defending, said: “He was sucked in and was out of his depth with other sophisticated individuals.”


He said Hammersley-Gonsalves was not a hardened criminal but a vulnerable cannabis addict whose heavy drug use led to debt.


“As a result of that, pressure was put upon him to manipulate him to get involved in other things,” added Mr Gaskin.


He said Hammersley-Gonsalves had moved out of Guisborough, set up home with his girlfriend and kept out of trouble in the year since his arrest.


The defendant found work as a joiner capable of good-quality work and was desperate to rid himself of his cannabis problem.


The judge, Recorder Mark McKone, said Hammersley-Gonsalves had been taking skunk cannabis from a young age, had taken cocaine and had mental health issues including an overdose attempt.


The judge told him: “When people are involved in supplying drugs those people usually go to prison.”


He passed a 22-month detention sentence suspended for two years with a maximum order to carry out 300 hours’ unpaid work and a year’s supervision.


“I’m doing that because I’m persuaded that the court will not see you again,” he added.


“I hope I’ve not got it wrong for you. In many ways I’m taking a chance on you.


“The easiest sentence would have been just to send you to custody today. Don’t let me down.”


Hammersley-Gonsalves, now of St Oswalds Court, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was ordered to pay £250 costs.



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