Why a judge told a young Hartlepool cannabis dealer he was 'fortunate' to be arrested

Shaun Turner, 23, from Hartlepool, narrowly avoided immediate prison at Teesside Crown Court after he admitted possessing the Class B drug with intent to supply and acquiring criminal property of £500 cash.

Police discovered what he was doing by chance when they went to his address on an unrelated matter on April 20 last year.

They recovered 179 grams of the drug from various rooms in the property worth around £1,000.

Rachel Masters, prosecuting, said: “It was located predominantly in the defendant’s bedroom. Further cannabis was found in the kitchen in two carrier bags and in a front upstairs bedroom two further bags of cannabis.

"A mobile phone was recovered from the defendant also which contained text messages pertaining to drug dealing.”

A set of scales and the £500 cash was also seized.

Stewart Haywood, defending, said in mitigation that Turner had been a heavy user of the drug.

He added: “It's fair to say he became tempted by the opportunity to make money from selling cannabis and therefore he was selling direct to users and was effectively a street dealer.”

The court heard Turner, of Drayton Road, was of previous character and has not offended since his arrest.

In passing a suspended sentence Judge Stephen Ashurst said: "In some respects it is fortunate for you that the police turned up at your property in relation to another matter that wasn’t proceeded with for they discovered what you had been doing.

"It may well be had the police not arrived on that occasion you might have found yourself in even deeper water than you are today.”

He passed an eight-month prison sentence suspended for two years with 150 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Judge Ashurst added: "I hope I’m doing the right thing in your case and the threat of this sentence hanging over you for the next two years will be sufficient punishment and to deter you from getting involved in this sort of offending ever again.”

The drugs and cash were forfeited.

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