Jail for Leeds dealer caught with machete and £11,000 of drugs

A DRUG dealer caught with a machete and cocaine and heroin worth more than £11,000 during a police operation in Leeds has been jailed for four years.

Leeds Crown Court heard police spotted 20-year-old Patrick Gavin at the wheel of a silver Vauxhall Astra after acting suspiciously on Haslewood Drive near York Road in east Leeds on August 28.

Officers smashed the driver’s window before arresting Gavin, who was found to be in possession of 55 grammes of heroin worth £3,000 and 117 grammes of cocaine and crack cocaine with a street value of more than £8.000

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Police also seized a machete in a scabbard, which was in the passenger side footwell of the car.

Gavin, of Neville Grove, Osmondthorpe, Leeds, admitted possessing crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply and possessing an offensive weapon.

He committed the offences while out of prison on licence after being sentenced to 18 months for similar offences when he appeared at Leeds Crown Court in June 2014.

Gavin told police that he committed the latest offences to pay off a debt to drug dealers after £1,000 worth of drugs were seized when he was arrested before being jailed in June 2014.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The court heard Gavin told police that he was told he or his family would be subjected to serious violence unless he paid off the debt

Mitigating, Marcus Waite said: “The defendant’s account was he borrowed the car. He didn’t own the machete, but he knew it was there. Clearly, it’s potentially a very dangerous weapon. The police smashed the window. At no point has he reached for the machete or tried to do anything with it. Whilst it was there, he didn’t seek to use it.

“The defendant says he was under pressure, but he doesn’t raise it as a defence. He blames himself for what he has done and indicates an intention to move away and make a clean start in the future.”

Judge Penelope Belcher told Gavin: “You have written me a letter and you say you are ashamed of what you did and ashamed of the impact on your family.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“You said you felt under pressure, you were struggling. You had a baby and you met these individuals and felt you had no alternative.

“You also say you want to make the most of your time in prison. You effectively grew up without parents because of drug use and you don’t want your son to be in the same position.”

Jailing Gavin for four years, Judge Belcher told him: “The aggravating features are you committed the offences whilst on licence and possession of the machete.”

Related topics: