A DAD who grew about £10,000 worth of cannabis plants next to his daughter’s toys avoided a prison sentence by the “skin of his teeth”.
David Ward, aged 32, grew between 50 and 60 plants when he was living in Dunrose Close, Wyken.
He appeared before Coventry Crown Court last Thursday and was given a 52-week prison sentence
suspended for two years.
The court heard neighbours alerted police to the situation on September 8 last year because they initially thought the home, which Ward shared with his partner and her three children, was being burgled.
But when officers arrived they discovered the plants growing in a tent in an upstairs bedroom.
As the house was unoccupied at the time, they decided to lie in wait to catch the offenders. And the next morning Ward entered the house with another man who escaped.
Blondol Thompson, prosecuting, said: “In a police interview Ward told officers he was forced into cultivating the plants at his home when he had taken some drugs, but could not afford to pay for them.
“He said the man had told him to grow some drugs in his house to wipe the debt. One of the lamps in the room used had his fingerprints on it, which Ward said could’ve got there because he kept his daughter’s toys in that room.”
Ward, father of three and an ex-fairground ride operator, refused to say who was forcing him into it and pleaded guilty to a charge of cultivating a class B drug.
Judge Philip Gregory told Ward: “You played an important role in cultivating a small cannabis factory. Anybody who operates or cultivates a cannabis factory should go to jail.
“And whether this was a gardening role, as you claimed, or a more serious organisational role you could not complain about a custodial term.
“It is only with the greatest of hesitation that I have been persuaded by your barrister that I can just suspend your sentence.
“You have avoided going down those steps to prison by the skin of your teeth.”
Ian Speed, defending, described his client as “educationally inadequate”.
“He has little understanding of what he is doing and the serious nature of it,” he added.
Ward claimed his drug dealer delivered the plants to his home and forced him to set up the drug factory.
Police estimated his crop was just three weeks away from harvest and expected to produce more than a kilogram of cannabis.
It's not entirely clear - did Mr Ward set the lamps up? Because that'd be why there were finger prints on the lamps - why did he need to mention his daughter's toys?
ReplyDelete