'One-off' Wakefield weed dealer remanded to teach him a lesson after being caught again

Jack Potter narrowly avoided custody in 2020 after he was stopped in North Yorkshire with bags of the drug under his car seat, along with incriminating messages on his phone that proved he was dealing.

He was given a six-month jail term, suspended for 12 months, at York Crown Court where the judge said he was happy that Potter had "learnt his lesson" and his crime was a "one-off".

But the 28-year-old was stopped again on Wakefield Road in Kinsley, Pontefract, on March 5, 2022. He was found with more than £260 worth of cannabis and £150 in cash. His mobile phone again showed messages related to dealing.

Potter, of Haigh Moor Road, Tingley, admitted a charge of dealing in cannabis and was due to be sentenced last week at Leeds Crown Court, but Judge Robin Mairs delayed the sentence and ordered him to be held on remand until this week. He appeared in court via video link from HMP Lincoln.

Judge Mairs gave him another suspended sentence - 24 months suspended for 24 months - but hoped the shock of being locked up for a week had the desired effect. Potter was audibly relieved when Judge Mairs said he would be released after the hearing.

He told Potter: "You have learnt two things in the last seven days - what it's like in prison, and that I have no difficulty in sending you there. If you breach it this time, it will be a lot more than seven days."

He also gave him 250 hours of unpaid work and a four-month curfew order to complete.