Drug addict given seventh chance to conquer demons after £3,500 Leeds raid
His home was taken over by dealers due to his mounting debt
A drug user with a 25-year addiction has been given another chance by the courts to overcome his problems after a successful raid.
Officers had to smash their way into the Headingley home of Graham Addinell where they found huge amounts of cocaine and heroin.
The 52-year-old has been given community orders with drug-rehabilitation requirements on six previous occasions.
But having admitted two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, he was spared immediate custody again after it was heard there was renewed hope he could finally end his decades of addiction.
Prosecuting the case at Leeds Crown Court, Lily Wildman said police executed a warrant at Addinell’s home on Granby Close on March 2.
They had to force entry because the door had a metal pole jammed against it to prevent anyone getting inside.
Addinell was found inside with another person and both were quickly detained. Addinell was the tenant of the property.
The drug found in the property had a value of £3,540. A small number of wraps of both cocaine and heroin were also found on Addinell.
He gave a no-comment interview at the police station. He has dozens of previous convictions, many for theft that are related to his drug addiction.
He later provided a basis of plea, that he had a mounting drug debt so dealers used his home to store substances. In return, his debt would be reduced. The basis was accepted by the Crown.
A probation report found he was brought up in care, had no family and last worked on building sites about five years ago.
Mitigating, Matthew Stewart said while being held on remand Addinell was receiving weekly injections to block the effects of drugs.
He described it as a “turning point” that could conquer his addiction “for good”.
Judge Penelope Belcher said that Addinell that had been given community orders to beat his drug problems in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
She gave him a 30-month sentence, suspended for three years, with a new nine-month drug-rehabilitation requirement and 10 rehabilitation days to complete with probation.
She told him: “I’m going to give you a chance and I’m going to monitor this very closely.
“It’s not going to be easy, you know that. You have failed previously.”