Drug dealer tried to drop package of heroin and crack cocaine down drain as he was arrested in Armley

Karl Rodgers abandoned his car after driving away from officers who signalled for him to stop his vehicle on Town Street, Armley.

Leeds Crown Court heard Rodgers was driving a Mitsubishi vehicle on April 30, 2019, when he suddenly changed direction after seeing a police car.

Andrew Petterson, prosecuting, said the officers followed the car but Rodgers abandoned the vehicle on Edinburgh Place and ran off.

The officers found Rodgers hiding behind parked cars on Edinburgh Terrace.

He was arrested after a chase and tried to drop a package down a drain as he was being handcuffed.

The package was recovered and found to contain 22 packages of crack cocaine and 22 bags of heroin.

Rodgers, 31, of Sticker Lane, Bradford, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a class A drug with intent to supply.

Mr Petterson said Rodgers pleaded guilty to the offences on the basis that he had been asked to deliver the car to a garage in Armley and had agreed to do it "out of a misguided sense of loyalty."

He has previous convictions for robbery, affray and possession of an imitation firearm.

Probation officer Mike Cooper told the court that Rodgers had been honest about the offending during an interview.

The court heard he has not been in trouble in the two years since the incident and has become a practicing Muslim

Rodgers had also become a father and his partner is expecting their second child.

Rodgers was given a 21-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work.

Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said: "I am persuaded, having regard to the changes that you have made, not to send you immediately to prison."