A dealer told officers he had swallowed wraps of drugs before vomiting as police raided his home.
A plain clothes officer saw Ryan Kearns, 29, of Marlborough Road in Oxton, on Woodchurch Road with a gang of men in what he described as a drug deal on November 30, 2022 at around 12.35pm. Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday, May 18, that Kearns noticed the officer and started to walk away from them.
KC Suzanne Payne told the court officers saw Kearns again on Borough Road, at the junction of Balls Road East, where they stopped and detained him on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of drugs. Officers found a graft phone which contained messages consistent with drug supply and £845 in cash.
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The court heard officers told Kearns they would search his home and he told them he had drugs in his bum. He told officers "I'm getting pressured into it" when he was detained.
Police found a total of 291 deals of crack cocaine with a street value of up to £3,110 and heroin worth up to £610. The prosecution told the court Kearns located where the drugs were in his home.
He also told officers he had "consumed a quantity of drugs" before he then started vomiting in front of officers. He was taken back to a police station for interview where he gave no comment.
He was later charged with possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin. Kearns, who appeared at his sentencing via video link from HMP Altcourse, has 21 previous convictions for 46 offences, five of which are in relation to drug offences.
He was found to be in possession of cannabis in 2016, in possession of heroin in 2018 and was also charged with possession in 2022 and 2023. In 2020 Kearns was jailed after he launched an attack on a law student in which he tried to "gouge his eyes". The 21-year-old required five operations to replace the cartilage at the top of his ear after the thug bit it off.
Kearns' lawyer, Anna Duke, said Kearns had been addicted to drugs himself since the age of 13 and had a number of debts which he could not pay off.
She told the court he was "pressured" into becoming a dealer over his debts. She added Kearns pleaded guilty to the offences at magistrates court and had just started a joinery course in prison and he hopes to get a job in the industry once he is released from prison.
Sentencing, Judge David Potter said Kearns he had been charged with a "very serious offence" which "could only have a custodial sentence" before jailing him for three years and four months. He also confirmed he would return to court on August 18 for a proceeds of crime act case.
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