Father and stepson 'warehousemen' twice caught storing drugs at Leeds terraced home
A father and his stepson were twice caught storing thousands of pounds worth of drugs on a residential street.
Michael Guest and Anthony Roberts were described by a judge at Leeds Crown Court as “trusted warehousemen” for cocaine and cannabis.
Guest, 55, was jailed for four-and-a-half years this week, with 41-year-old Roberts being handed a suspended sentence for his part.
Police had first gone to Guest’s home address on Hyde Park Close in Woodhouse on November 13. They recovered hundreds of pounds worth of cannabis and around £2,500 worth of cocaine.
There was also cash, scales and snap bags. Guest and Price were both arrested.
Guest told police during his interview that the drugs were his and that he bought the cocaine thinking it was amphetamine. He said he had amassed a drug debt.
Roberts, meanwhile, gave a no-comment interview.
Released under investigation, police returned to the address on July 20, 2022. Again they found £1,920 of cocaine in deals, along with hundreds of pounds of cannabis.
Roberts gave another no-comment interview, while Guest said he smoked cannabis and took cocaine twice a week.
Guest later admitted two counts of dealing in cocaine and possession of an offensive weapon - a butterfly knife that was found during one of the searches.
He has a long record of crimes that resulted in lengthy jail sentences, including Section 18 GBH, robbery, kidnap and prison mutiny.
Roberts admitted two counts of dealing in cannabis. He also has a lengthy record that included harassment, making threats and handling stolen goods.
Mitigating for Guest, Sean Smith said he has accrued a large drug debt and was pressured into using his home for storage, but when it was raided for the first time, more pressure was put on him over the confiscated drugs.
He said he had since moved to the Hull area and had addressed his own drugs and alcohol issues.
For Roberts, Nicholas Hammond said he had a history of mental health issues, with the court being told he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
He said that work could be done with probation to steer him away from his own cannabis use.
Judge Simon Phillips KC said both men were “trusted to handle large quantities of drugs”.
He jailed Guest, now of Endike Lane, Hull, for 24 months for the first raid, then a further 30 months for the second. Running consecutively, it means a total of 54-months.
Roberts, of Hyde Park Close, Leeds, was jailed for 16 months, suspended for 24 months, and given 25 rehabilitation days to complete.