Magistrate gives father a drugs wake-up warning

A married Sunderland dad has been told his belief that drugs are not a problem to him is mistaken after he was hauled into court for possession.

Mark Wright, 48, of Grafton Street, Millfield, Sunderland, was given the words of warning by chairman of the bench Tony Hewitson at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court.

Mr Hewitson spoke out after Wright pleaded guilty to possession of illegal class B amphetamine.

In the course of the hearing, he also heard six of Wright’s 32 previous convictions were drug-related.

After hitting him with fines and court costs of £199, Mr Hewitson told him: “Your solicitor said drugs are not a problem for you, but they

are. You keep coming to court.

“That’s £199 you could have spent elsewhere, Mr Wright. It probably wasn’t a good decision to buy drugs.”

Prosecutor Leanne Duffy told the court Wright was stopped by police on an unrelated matter in Belle Vue Road, Ashbrooke, Sunderland, on Tuesday, June 16.

She added: “It followed a report of an incident. He was arrested on an unrelated matter.

“A search at the police station revealed a white powder, it was amphetamine.

“He has 32 previous convictions from 69 offences, six of them are drug-related.”

The court was told Wright was last before the courts in August last year, again for possession of banned drugs.

Neil Hodgson, defending Wright, a sometime scrapyard worker, said: “I don’t take any issue with what has been said.

“Commonly known as whizz, it’s amphetamine. It’s a stop and search by police, and he was arrested and found to have it.

“From time to time, he has used amphetamine, but he doesn’t see himself as an addict.

“He’s not working at the moment, he’s a carer for his wife but he sometimes works in a scrapyard. He’s a dad of three or four.

“It’s a guilty plea, he deserves the early guilty plea credit.”

Magistrates fined Wright £80, reduced from £120 for his early guilty plea, and he must pay £85 court costs and a £34 victim surcharge.

They also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs.

The case was heard at South Tyneside Law Courts.