Man jailed for dealing drugs to fund habit
A man who turned to drug dealing to fund his own habit has been jailed for two years.
Jack Oliver Warden, 26, of High Street, Llanfyllin, near Oswestry, appeared at Mold Crown Court yesterday, where he admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply, and previously offering to supply cocaine and cannabis.
Meirion Lewis-Jones, prosecuting, said police stopped a Peugeot car in Newtown on April 27 in which Warden was a passenger.
He said Warden was seen to hide a brown bag, which contained cocaine, between the seat and the console. Police also found a cocaine wrap in his trouser pocket and £300 in cash in the glove compartment.
Mr Lewis-Jones said later at the police station Warden's mobile phone was found to contain incriminating text messages, and money he had been carrying was found to have cocaine traces on it.
Mr Lewis-Jones said further items were found at Warden's home including digital scales and two cola cans that had been designed with screw tops and jars inside, which were suitable for storing a drugs stash.
The court was told that the total potential street value of the drugs was between £470 and £590.
In sentencing, Judge Niclas Parry told Warden that his actions were entirely calculated.
He said: "You took a risk for financial gain. You were prepared to deal regularly in class A and B drugs on the streets of the community where you live.
"This was profiting at the expense of the misery of others in an area of Wales where the misery caused by drugs is well established.
"This must be sentenced in a way to hopefully deter others."
Matthew Dunford, for Warden, said his client has no previous convictions and had acted entirely out of character because of his own drug dependency.
He said that once Warden is released he is planning to leave Powys and make a fresh start in Cardiff, where his brother lives, to get away from the environment where his offending occurred.
References handed in to the court indicated that he had acted entirely out of character, Mr Dunford said, and there was no doubt that he had done it because his own drug dependency.
He added: "My client is conscious of the upset and shame that he has brought not on himself but on his family."
