Leeds drug offender who missed unpaid work over family pet death avoids jail for second time
A drug offender who missed his community service because he said he needed to have his pet put down has been given a final chance - and even had his work hours slashed.
Luke Powter appeared at Leeds Crown Court where he admitted breaching the terms of a community order he received for being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.
The 30-year-old was given the order in April 2023, and told he must he complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
The court heard he had only finished 37 hours in the last two years, and last attended a work session in September last year.
The deadline to have the full 200 hours completed has already been extended once and will expire this month, prosecutor Emily Jenkins said.
Mitigating, Charles Blatchford said Powter had “excuses” that did not necessarily add up to mitigation, which included a “clash of personality” with the work supervisor, having the family pet put down and having a child with special needs.
Mr Blatchford conceded Powter, of Wykebeck Mount, Halton Moor, was “in the last chance saloon”.
But Judge Richard Mansell KC opted not to send him into custody. He told him: “You have done less than 40 hours out of 200.
“Your response has been poor to say the least. I’m going to give a third and final chance.”
He revoked the existing community order, and gave him a new 12-month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work - effectively reducing the amount he has to complete by more than 62 hours.
He told him: “You have benefited from your own breach because I’ve chalked off about 60 hours. You have to knuckle down.
“Disagreements with supervisors do not wash I’m afraid. It’s meant to be a punishment.”
Powter was originally convicted on April 14, 2023. The charge of being concerned in the supply of drugs stemmed from an incident in 2019 when police raided a drugs operation at Powter’s address.
He was out of the country at the time, but others were arrested, including his father-in-law. Powter’s fingerprints were found on benzocaine - a known cocaine cutting agent - along with small traces of cocaine.
Powter’s case was severed from the other defendants after he was charged with a lesser offence.