The Supreme Court saw a drug dealer sentenced on Friday morning to three years and four months in prison.
25 year old Taylor Collins had previously pleaded guilty to nine charges, relating to over 13 grammes of cocaine.
He also admitted to intimidating a witness.
Collins had been at a bar in Ocean Village on a Sunday afternoon in November 2020 when he was spotted with another man concealing drugs behind a mannequin at the venue. Police were called and found wrappers containing 3.383 grammes of cocaine and 1.419 grammes of MDMA. The defendant had supplied drugs to the other man.
The police returned to the bar later and a search revealed a further 9.975 grammes of cocaine hidden in plant pots.
The drugs had a combined value of £1200.
Collins appeared whilst police were carrying out their search but couldn’t give a good reason as to why he was there. He later turned up at the bar again, banging on the door and and mysteriously telling the manager “Three days”, leaving him feeling threatened.
The defendant’s lawyer Leigh Debono said his client had been 23 at the time and lacked maturity.
However, his probation officer noted his ‘challenging attitude’ and said he had a medium to high risk of re-offending.
When deciding the sentence, Puisne Judge Liam Yeats took into consideration the defendant's guilty pleas and the fact his girlfriend is pregnant. However, he said the custody threshold was clearly met in the 'serious’ case. He also noted the offences took place during the day, at a place frequented by families.
He sentenced Collins to three years for the drug offences and an additional four months for the intimidation, to be served consecutively.
He will now be in prison when his child is born.
The drugs are to be destroyed.
Katy Docker reports.
