A Leeds man was forced to sell class As after his dog got into a fight with a drug dealer’s DOG.
Graham Tolson, 50, was told he owed £7,000 after his dog had injured the other after getting into a fight. Leeds Crown Court heard he was told by the dealer that he could sell drugs in order to pay off his “debt.”
It was said that Tolson was spotted by two police officers close to 2pm on Beckhill Approach on May 21 last year while in a VW vehicle. Prosecutor Gareth Henderson-Moore said: “It was suspected he may be involved in supplying drugs and they approached him and asked him to get out. He failed to comply and drove away at speed for 100m.”
The court heard that during the 100m, Tolson drove at speed at a blind bend while pedestrians were around, before crashing the vehicle. He then got out and went to a nearby grass embankment, where officers arrested him from. They discovered a pink plastic tube which was found to contain 24 wraps and crack cocaine and 25 wraps of heroin.
Mr Henderson-Moore said: “His phone was seized and downloaded and showed evidence of street dealing over the course of nine days before his arrest. He pleaded guilty [to possession with intent to supply class A drugs] on the basis that he was pressured into drug dealing on the behalf of others after his dog got into a fight and the dog became injured.
“He was told he owed £7,000 but he had no money and was told he could work the debt off.”
Leeds Crown Court
Mitigating, Mike Walsh, said a pre-sentence report had been prepared in the case. He said: “He was not involved in the use of drugs or the obtaining of a debt as a result of the use of drugs and not being able to pay for them – this is something very different. He will state that he panicked when he saw a number of plain clothed officers.
“In that instance, he didn’t know they were officers and didn’t trust that they were officers as in the hours before he had been released from the physical grip of those putting pressure on him. It doesn’t excuse his actions. He has been in custody for approximately seven-and-a-half months. That in itself is a 15-month sentence.”
His Honour Judge Phillips jailed Tolson for 30 months for the offences of possession with intent to supply class A drugs and dangerous driving, and also disqualified him from driving for 51 months.
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