'Clang of prison door' put Leeds nightclub dealer back on track, court told
He was stopped at the door with bags of powder
A young man caught with high-purity cocaine and ketamine as he tried to enter a Leeds nightclub has been spared immediate custody.
Lewis Ingber had spent more than two months on remand after missing his trial date.
Since then he has admitted dealing in Class A and B drugs, with the judge at Leeds Crown Court saying the “clang of the prison door” was enough to make him see sense.
Ingber, who is now 23 but was 18 at the time of his offending, was handed a suspended sentence.
The court was told he was stopped by security and searched at the old Pryzm nightclub on Woodhouse Lane on the night of January 15, 2022.
He was found to have 11 bags of powder, made up of six deal of cocaine with a purity up to 90 per cent, and five bags of ketamine.
After his home was searched, he was found to have thousands of pounds worth of cocaine and ketamine stashed, along with scales and grip-seal bags for dealing.
Ingber, of Melton Road, Doncaster, told police it was for personal use.
After a trial date was set, he failed to turn up to court and a warrant was put out for his arrest. He was then arrested after touching down at East Midlands Airport that day.
As a result, he was placed into custody at HMP Leeds.
Mitigating, Jeremy Barton said Ingber’s incarceration resulted in the “the best he has felt in a long time”.
He added: “He was worried if he had not been caught, it would have got worse.”
Mr Barton said Ingber had since realised that involvement in drugs was “nothing but a spiralling mess”.
He said Ingber had an unhappy childhood but was still a young man.
Judge Simon Batiste said of Ingber’s remand: “I imagine it has been a difficult experience.
“It’s supposed to be a difficult experience. It’s a taste of what will come if you repeat your offending.
“It is the clang of the prison door that has the greatest impact.”
He gave him the longest suspendible sentence permitted by law - three-years, suspended for three years.
He ordered he complete 15 rehabilitation days with probation, 200 hours of unpaid work and a 90-day alcohol abstinence requirement.