Jail for ‘county lines’ dealers who led cops on chase
TWO ‘county lines’ drug dealers were caught after they rammed a police car and led officers on a chase.
Billy Carl Johnson, 27 and Stephen Ayrey, 26, from Eccles, were then linked to £1,000 worth of heroin and crack cocaine, some of which was hidden in a dry stone wall.
Johnson was behind the wheel and Avery was the passenger in a Renault Scenic which police tried to pull over in Kendal, Cumbria, in December last year.
The stolen vehicle instead tried to drive off, smashing into a police car and parked vehicles, narrowly missing officers and a cyclist as it left the area in the direction of Kendal town centre. The Scenic was then found abandoned and the pair were later arrested in the Gillinggate area of Kendal.
DNA evidence linked them to the car and to £1,000 of heroin and crack, some of which was stashed in a dry stone wall and was found with the help of a sniffer dog.
Johnson, of Reginald Street, Eccles, admitted possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, dangerous driving and handling stolen goods and was jailed for three years and nine months at Carlisle Crown Court. Ayrey, 26, of The Gardens, Eccles, was jailed for three years and four months after admitting possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and handling stolen goods.
Judge James Adkin said there was ‘a feature of county lines drug dealing’ to the men’s offending. The term refers to gangs setting up drug dealing operations in areas away from their home town or city, often rural areas.
It can also refer to the use of children to sell drugs but there is no suggestion of that in this case.
Speaking after the court hearing, Police Constable Christopher Appleyard from Cumbria Police said: “Today’s sentencing sends a clear message to those considering becoming involved in county line drug dealing: Kendal is not a soft touch, we will catch you.
“You will go to jail.”