A cocaine dealer whose use of the drug was "raging out of control" engaged in a lengthy crime spree which included ramming a van after challenging the driver to a fight, deliberately crashing into a police car, buying and selling a stolen car, and carrying hundreds of pounds in counterfeit currency.
Sie Parsons had spent three years dealing the Class A drug before police came across his operation by chance, and officers later found he was keeping some of his stash hidden in a safe buried in the garden of his partner's mother's house. His offending finally came to an end when a police officer forced his vehicle into a ditch on a mountain road.
Swansea Crown Court heard 25-year-old Parsons now wants to focus on being a better father to his daughter.
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Robin Rouch, prosecuting, told the court that Parsons' drug dealing came to light on April 4, 2020 after a police officer on patrol in Pontardawe spotted a Ford EcoSport with false plates which was believed to be the same vehicle that had been stolen from Swansea Marina two months earlier. The Ford was stopped and the driver said he had bought the SUV from Parsons. Later that day Parsons was spotted in the town and arrested.
A subsequent search of his then-home in nearby Godre'rgraig found 28g of cocaine worth around £1,300 along with four mobile phones and a set of weighing scales. The court heard three of the phones contained messages relating to the supply of cocaine, along with tick lists of moneys owed. In his interview Parsons told officers he had bought the EcoSport for £300 knowing it was stolen before selling it on, and he said he was a "heavy user" of cocaine and had been selling the drug for the last three years. He told officers he would buy cocaine for £350 per ounce on a weekly basis, keeping half for himself and mixing the rest with benzocaine before selling it to others.
The court heard the following week police executed a search warrant at the Lower Cwmtwrch home of the mother of Parson's partner, Natalie Neesham, an address at which the couple had been staying. Buried in the back garden of the property police found a safe containing another 13g of cocaine along with benzocaine and cash. A further quantity of cocaine was found in the house but the court heard it was not attributable to either Parsons or Neesham. In a bedroom of the house police found a box containing 7.5g of cannabis.
Neesham and Parsons were arrested two days after the house was searched, and Neesham said the cannabis in the box was hers. When Neesham's phone was examined officers found messages where she was trying to recover money owed by people to her partner. The pair were questioned and released under investigation.
The prosecutor said Parsons came to the attention of police again the following February came when officers stopped a car in Ystradgynlais. Parsons, who was the front seat passenger, told officers there were what he called "fake notes" under his seat and when the vehicle was searched police found 46 counterfeit £20 notes. In interview Parsons told the officers he had sold a vehicle earlier that day and been paid with what turned out to be forgeries. He said he planned to use the fake money to pay drug dealers and had no intention of trying to buy legitimate items with them. Again he was released under investigation.
Parsons' third episode of offending took place on August 28, 2022. The prosecutor said at lunchtime on the day in question Parsons was driving on the A4067 Swansea Valley bypass when he cut up a van on the approach the Ynysforgan roundabout. The defendant then began "swearing and gesticulating" at the van driver - a man he knew by the name of Jamie Moses. Later that day Mr Moses began receiving threating calls and texts from Parsons, and was challenged to a fight outside Castle Bingo in Morriston.
The court heard Mr Moses decided to go the rendezvous to see what issues Parsons had with him, and he took along his brother-in-law for support. Enroute to the bingo hall Mr Moses thought his van had developed a puncture and so pulled over in a bus stop on Clase Road in Morriston to check. At that moment Parsons was passing the bus stop, and seeing Mr Moses getting out his van he swerved across the road and deliberately drove his car into the van before revering away and ramming it again. The court heard fortunately Mr Moses only suffered soft tissue damage to a foot and a bump on the head. Parsons later sent texts to Mr Moses telling him "Don't start something you can't finish, little boy" and warning him against giving his name to the police.
Two weeks later Parsons' fourth of final episode of offending in the spree took place. The prosecutor said on the evening of September 9 police received information that Parsons was in the Clydach area and was driving a BMW car. An officer went to the village and saw the suspect who stationary by a roundabout - the officer tried block the Beamer's escape with his car, a technique called a "reinforced stop", but Parsons rammed the cop car and sped off. The cost of the damage to the police car was put at £3,720 plus VAT. The court heard another officer in the area suspected Parsons had fled along a nearby mountain road and went to check. As the officer drove along the single-lane track he found himself facing Parsons driving the other way - the officer used his car to "shove" the oncoming BMW into a roadside ditch and then arrested the driver.
Sie Parsons, of Gelliderw, Pontardawe, had previously pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods, being concerned in the supply of cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to supply, possession of counterfeit currency, attempting to inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent - driving into Mr Moses and his van - two counts of dangerous driving, two counts of driving while disqualified, two counts of driving without insurance, and failing to answer court bail when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has 16 previous convictions for 41 offences including three dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, seven batteries, two assaulting police officers, being drunk and disorderly, using violence to gain entry to a premises common assault, perverting the course of justice, assaulting an emergency worker, and multiple driving while disqualifieds.
In 2020 Parsons was sentenced to 16 months in prison for a string of offending committed the day after the discovery of the safe in the Cwmtwrch garden. This offending saw him leading police on a 40-mile chase from Swansea to Brecon and back to Hirwaun in his partner's car reaching speeds of 110mph. At one point he twice rammed a pursuing police car, causing nearly £8,000 of damage. He later made off on foot and was chased by an officer who borrowed a cycle from a member of the public to follow him. Parsons was subsequently found hiding in a tree by a police sniffer dog, and he later told officers that he "couldn’t give a f*** about the rules."
Natalie Neesham, aged 22, of East Burrows Road, Maritime Quarter, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and the simple possession of cannabis when she appeared alongside Parsons
John Ryan, for Parsons, said his client's cocaine addiction had been "raging out of control" but during his "enforced sobriety" on remand in prison he had completed a number of courses, and wants to change his life and be a better father to his daughter. He said letters submitted to the court on behalf of the client described him as someone who was thoughtful and caring, and a letter from his mother detailed his struggles with ADHD and Asperger's.
Stuart John, for Neesham, said it was his respectful submission that his client's case was very different from that of her co-defendant, and was one where a suspendable sentence could be passed. He said the defendant's role had been limited to sending text messages to try to recover money owed to her partner on a single day, and said since that offending almost three years ago she had moved from Penrhos to Swansea to get away from the "bad company" she had been keeping and had completed a course in health and beauty which was area she was keen to pursue as a career.
With discounts for his guilty pleas, Recorder David Harris sentenced Parsons to a total of four years and 10 months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Parsons was disqualified from driving for three years, with the ban extended by an extra two years and five months to cover the time he will be behind bars.
With a one-third discount for her guilty pleas Neesham was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course and 130 hours of unpaid work
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