Couple’s bogus confession video sought to clear dealer’s name
ACOUPLE staged a bogus confession video as they sought to clear the name of a drug dealer.
Lee Hayes was caught with thousands of pounds of cocaine when police raided his apartment.
But his courier Anecy Semley and her girlfriend Emily O’Shea then set about filming footage in which the former claimed to have “planted” the stash of illicit substances.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Merseyside Police executed a search warrant at Hayes’ home on April 1 2021 and recovered a quantity of cocaine valued at up to £3,500, as well as £575 in cash and drug paraphernalia.
Messages on his iPhone made reference to sales of “flake, beak and lemo” and provided Semley’s bank account details to customers for payment.
Stella Hayden, prosecuting, described how the 33-year-old, of Prescot Road in St Helens, was also evidenced to have completed deliveries on his behalf.
Hayes, of Morley Road in Southport, was set to face a trial over the seizure, but in August 2022 the 49-year-old’s solicitors were provided with a statement and mobile phone footage from O’Shea alleging that her partner had “planted some gear” at his flat.
The video supposedly showed Semley being secretly filmed as she admitted to the apparent set up. But the mum, who has no previous convictions, later confessed to detectives under interview that the clip had been staged.
Both her and O’Shea were said to have embarked on filming the footage “at the behest” of Hayes following “pressure and manipulation”.
Frank Dillon, defending Semley, told the court: “This guilty plea has deprived Anecy Semley of her good character.
“That was important to her and it has gone. Going forward in the employment market, it will have a detrimental effect on her prospects.
“She has now been free of alcohol and drugs for 18 months which, in her context, is a monumental achievement. She now has a 12-week-old baby boy who is healthy.
“An experience suffered at the age of 19 has had a severe impact on her mental health from that time onwards. She suffered, last year, two strokes, and has been diagnosed with a hole in the heart.
“She has, since the birth of her child, suffered with post-natal depression. That is a condition which follows on from anxiety and depression which she has suffered from for some time.
“This was all done with coercion. She was ripe for exploitation by someone she was reliant upon, not least for drugs she was addicted to.
“She has conquered her addiction. She has a young child.
“She is free of those who were an influence upon her. She has never been in trouble before.”
O’Shea, of Knowsley Road in Southport, also has no previous convictions.
Lloyd Morgan said on the 23-yearold’s behalf: “She finally had her dream job, but once she told them she was in court she had to leave that.
“It is something she is hoping to get back into. She has suffered, at her own hands of course.
“She is genuinely remorseful and regrets getting involved. The court will be aware of mental health difficulties Ms O’Shea has suffered for many years.
“She has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. There is particular trauma that she has suffered.
“She had those vulnerabilities. She has sought to rehabilitate herself, and she has done everything she possibly could.”
Both Semley and O’Shea admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. The former also pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine.
O’Shea lifted her glasses and wiped away tears as she was handed a ninemonth imprisonment suspended for a year, as well as 80 hours of unpaid work, a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days and six-month mental health treatment requirement.
Semley too cried as she was handed a 24-month imprisonment suspended for two years, plus a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days.
Sentencing, Judge Katherine Pierpoint said of her involvement in drug dealing: “You were working for him in his business as a drug dealer, and that is a serious matter. Drugs have a serious effect on the community, as you yourself know only too well because of your own addiction to them.”
Of the video, the judge added: “You knew it was a set up. The plan was that
Mr Hayes would be able to avoid responsibility for what he had done.
“The fact is, conspiring to pervert the course of justice is an extremely serious offence. The maximum sentence is one of life imprisonment, and that is because it is such a serious offence.
“Offences such as this strike at the root of the criminal justice system. The two of you, when you were sat in that flat with that phone, might not have thought through the consequences of what you were doing.
“I accept that both of you have been slightly naive, but it is a serious matter. You have accepted that the two you were involved in a plan to try and allow Mr Hayes to walk away from what he was involved in.”
Judge Pierpoint told O’Shea: “It is clear that you are somebody who has had difficulties through your teenage years, issues which have led to you having a certain level of vulnerability. I accept that you are someone who has been manipulated by those older than you.
“However, you took the steps to involve yourself in this matter. You could have done something different, and you chose not to.
“You are somebody who is well viewed and supported by those who love and care for you. I do hope that this is behaviour you can put behind you, and that we do not see you before these courts again.
“You have made real efforts to turn your life around. You are a woman who does have potential for the future.
“No complaint could be made at all today if I were to send you immediately into custody. You have come extremely close today to being sentenced to immediate custody.”
The judge told Semley: “I accept that you were somebody who was ripe for exploitation, but the reason you were ripe for exploitation is because you yourself were a drug user. You got yourself into debt, and you then got yourself involved.
“You are now free of alcohol and drugs, and have been for 18 months. That is no easy feat.
“I have read of the trauma you have suffered in your life and the difficulties you have. You are plainly now a different person, and you have now become a mother.
“You have come extremely close to being sent immediately into custody. If you come back before me, you will be going down into the cells.”
Hayes, who pleaded guilty to two drug offences and perverting the course of justice, will be sentenced at a later date.
He was told to expect an “inevitable custodial sentence”, and waved to his supporters in the public gallery as he was remanded into custody.