Jail for drug dealer with a violent history
Police catch 35-year-old Newbury man red-handed with drugs and cash
A DRUG dealer with a history of violence has been jailed.
James Pettman was caught with a substantial amount of drugs and cash. The weight of the cannabis resin was 1.66kg, a court was told.
Our photograph, sent in by a reader, shows the police raid in Newtown Road, Newbury.
There is no suggestion of any connection with the innocent business pictured. The raid happened on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 22.
At a previous hearing the 35-year-old, of Bartholomew Street, Newbury, admitted possessing the Class B-controlled drug cannabis with intent to supply it to others.
He further admitted acquiring criminal property, namely £1,800 in cash.
Pettman has previously been jailed for savage assaults on a woman.
At a sentencing hearing at
Reading Crown Court on Friday, Judge Paul Dugdale was told how Pettman had been caught with 21 blocks of cannabis resin.
In addition, there was £1,800 cash in his wallet.
The court heard how Pettman
had been offered a special deal on the drugs and raced off to Bristol in a taxi.
But police had apparently been tipped off, and busted him when he stopped at a friend’s flat in Newtown Road.
Judge Dugdale acknowledged that Pettman was a hard-working family man and said: “You bought this cannabis in large quantities.
“I accept some of it would have been for your own use; I accept you have a long-term, serious cannabis habit.”
But, he added: “This was a business – supplying cannabis to others. There was an awful lot of equipment in your house designed for weighing up and bagging up cannabis.”
Judge Dugdale reminded Pettman he had prior convictions for violence and drug dealing and said: “You’ve got a good job to go back to and a supportive family – but this cannabis dealing has got to stop.”
He said the high-strength cannabis produced today was a major factor in schizophrenic illness among young people and urged Pettman to address his own habit.
Pettman replied: “I’m working on myself.”
The judge added: “Look in the mirror in the mornings and say to yourself: ‘I’m not going to be a complete mug.’”
He sentenced to Pettman to 16 months imprisonment. With the time spent on remand in custody awaiting sentence and the fact that half would be served behind bars and the remainder on licence in the community, he told Pettman he could expect to be free in around six months.
Look in the mirror in the mornings and say to yourself: ‘I’m not going to be a complete mug