DRUG dealers were caught with a stash of cannabis and thousands of pounds in cash when police raided a house in Carterton.
Thomas Alcock and Adam Robinson were sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday, after a jury found them guilty of two counts of being concerned in the supply of cannabis.
The court heard how police raided a property they were living in in Carterton, at 7am on March 5, 2018.
Officers executed a drugs warrant at the home in Poppy Terrace, and found bags and pots of cannabis worth almost £2,000.
The drugs were found in the men’s respective bedrooms along with weighing scales and a book of names, understood to be a list of customers who owed money, as well as more then £7,100 in cash.
The court heard how Alcock, 28, of Dove Holes in Buxton, had 26 previous convictions for 25 offences.
Defending, Gordana Austin said he grew up on an estate in Stockport and fell in with an older crowd.
He was first arrested when he was aged just 11 and his first conviction was at the age of 12.
However, he moved to Oxford in 2013 to escape that cycle, the court heard, and worked his way up in the construction industry.
Ms Austin said Alcock gained a ‘well-paid’ job and even helped to build the new Westgate shopping centre in Oxford.
She said he is also a keen gamer, attending competitions in Northern Ireland which is where he met his girlfriend.
The barrister added: “He has put his old lifestyle behind him and has since moved to Ireland.
“He was very embarrassed to tell her family about these offences.
“He hasn’t been in trouble since March 2018.”
The court also heard how co-defendant Robinson, 27, of Cotswold Dene in Witney, had 13 previous convictions for 19 offences.
His defence barrister spoke of how he had been diagnosed with anxiety and used cannabis to ease this.
Sentencing, Judge Ian Pringle said the pair had been ‘running a cannabis business’ from the property.
He said: “You both have potential and you’re both able to apply yourselves and work hard.
“It’s clearly something you can do and should do since you’re now adults – get on with your life and make something of it.
“You maintain that the cannabis there was simply for your own use – the jury clearly rejected that.”
He said there was ‘no doubt’ that the offences warranted immediate custody.
Although most of the money was found in Alcock’s room, he said he saw ‘no reason to differentiate’ between their sentences.
Judge Pringle said: “Mr Alcock, you were more the money person and you, Mr Robinson, were probably more involved in the dealing.”
He sentenced both men to 14 months in prison.
Taken from : Witneygazette.co.uk
