OAP dealer faces order to pay up
APENSIONER caught dealing drugs on the streets of Macclesfield has been spared jail - but could ber made pay back his ill-gotten gains.
Brian Marshall Sutton, 71, who Chester Crown Court heard would make nearly £200 a week had previously pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis with intent to supply.
At the time Judge Patrick Thompson had told
Sutton he was considering jail and that he ‘didn’t want to create false hope’ for him.
But at the same court Judge Steven Everett gave him a suspended jail sentence and a four month curfew between the hours of 7pm and 7am.
Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings will now take place to decide how much money Sutton must pay back.
Police had found him on Cumberland Street in Macclesfield town centre, with 12 three gramme snap bags containing cannabis bush, a previous hearing was told. A subsequent search of his home discovered more drugs and the total found was worth between £3,750 and £5,600.
In an interview with officers Sutton said that he sold the drugs on a commission basis and was paid around £1,500 every eight weeks.
At the earlier hearing Jayne Morris had outlined the prosecution’s case, saying when police had stopped Sutton in his vehicle on July 1 this year, they found 12 ‘street deals’ of drugs. She said: “A further search of his home address found a further 12 wraps of cannabis and £2,140 in cash.
“They also found a ‘dealer’s list’ containing details of his activity.”
Defending, Philip Clemo had requested a pre-sentence report, saying his client had run up significant debts, including balances on credit cards, and suffered from ‘a tragic back history’.
It was said Sutton, of Oak View, Marton, had a previous conviction for production of cannabis for which he received a suspended jail sentence in 2014.
At the conviction hearing Judge Thompson told him: “That’s a lot of money from dealing drugs.
“You’re 71, you are old enough to know better.”
Sutton was sentenced to a year’s jail suspended for 18 months was also ordered to complete a 20 hours rehabilitation activity.
The date for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing was set for March 23 next year.