A drug dealing sex offender has gone unpunished for driving his car at police officers before they found his haul of crack cocaine.
Convicted rapist Edward Flynn left Kilmarnock Sheriff Court as a free man this week after handing over more than a thousand pounds earned through dealing.
The 55-year-old, who was jailed for six years at the High Court in Glasgow for rape in 2012, is said to have turned to dealing the drug to fund his own addiction.
He claims he became hooked on deadly class A drugs after being shunned by friends and family over the sex assault.
And he landed back in the dock after driving at police officers who arrived at his home with a warrant to search the property for drugs.
Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard that officers went to his home in the town last April with a search warrant.
They spotted Flynn in his car and approached the vehicle, trying to open the driver's door.
But he sped off from the scene, clipping one officer with his wing mirror and causing the other officers to have to jump out of the way to avoid being struck.
He later ditched his car and four bags containing white rocks of crack cocaine, weighing a total of 35g and worth around £1,500.
A search of his home turned up digital scales but was clear for drugs, and officers combed the area near where he had abandoned his car.
They found the backs of crack, with a DNA sample proving he had ditched them.
Flynn had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of driving at police officers "culpably and recklessly and with utter disregard for the consequences" and being in possession of crack cocaine with intent to supply it to others.
When Flynn returned to the dock to be sentenced, defence solicitor Neil McPherson said he had turned to drugs following his release from prison for the rape.
He said he was trying to stay clean and turn his life around.
Sheriff George Jamieson said: "I'm going to defer sentence for six months for you to be of good behaviour.
"It seems that between September 2020 and 2021 you seem to have been getting yourself involved in a cocaine habit that latterly resulted in you being concerned in the supply.
"This is really to put you to the test and we'll check in six months if you really have turned a corner.
"If you continue to offend, obviously there's only one place you're going to go - and that's prison."
The sheriff also confiscated £1,115 in cash which was found during a September 2020 raid on Flynn's home.
Cocaine, Etizolam, which is often sold as valium, and Gabapentin, which is sold under the brand name Neurontin and is used to treat epilepsy and nerve pain, were found during that raid.
He admitted drug possession charges in relation to that raid and was fined £500, reduced from £600, for the offences, and ordered to pay a £20 surcharge.
He will return to court over the drug dealing and driving at police later in the year.
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