Ice hockey star’s sentence appeal is dismissedbyjudge
An attempt by two former Bracknell Bees players to have cocaine-related jail terms reduced is turned down
A FORMER ice hockey player, jailed for masterminding a cocaine-dealing ring, has been told by judges he deserved every day of his jail term.
Adam James Greener, excaptain of the Bracknell Bees, was locked up for 12 years at Southampton Crown Court in January, after admitting conspiracy to supply the class A drug.
The 32-year-old, of Walnut Close in Yateley, challenged his sentence at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, with his lawyers arguing it was too long for the amount of drugs involved and his good behaviour while behind bars.
But his appeal was dismissed by three of the country’s most senior judges, who said the term was ‘not excessive’ in light of the serious nature of his crime.
The judges also rejected an appeal by another former Bees player, 34-year-old Scott John Moody, of Meadow Way, Old Windsor, who received 30 months in jail after he admitted having criminal property.
Judges said Moody’s sentence was ‘stern, but justified’.
The court heard Greener was arrested in March last year during a police raid at the home of one of his accomplices.
Officers found a ‘mini laboratory’, including drugs with a street value of £600,000, cutting agents – used to bulk out the powder – and scales and plastic bags used to prepare individual deals.
Greener had started selling drugs in 2012, after his business started struggling and he took out a loan from the ‘wrong people’ to pay off the debt. He then recruited others to help him.
Moody, who was caught with £50,000 in cash when pulled over by police in Staffordshire in November 2012, was cleared of conspiracy to supply cocaine but had previously admitted possessing criminal property.
He had been paid £1,000 by Greener for his services, but said he was not aware the cash was the proceeds of a drug deal.
Lawyers acting for both men argued their jail terms were over the top – with Greener’s representative saying his was too long for the quantity of drugs involved and did not take enough account of his ‘good works’ in prison. Moody’s lawyer said his client’s sentence was too harsh, given his limited involvement. Dismissing both appeals, Mr Justice Phillips said, while the sentences were ‘stern’, they reflected the criminality involved and were not manifestly excessive.
Sitting with Lady Justice Macur and Judge Neil Ford QC, and addressing Greener’s jail term, he added: “This was an appropriate case for a deterrent sentence. It was a serious conspiracy, in which Greener was correctly viewed as being a leading player.”