A stonemason ended up sleeping in his car and selling heroin and cocaine to fellow addicts, a court has heard. Shaun Millan was caught after police became suspicious of what he was doing in a vehicle parked at the roadside in a Swansea housing estate. After a brief struggle the 45-year-old was detained and searched and was found to be carrying two knives.
Swansea Crown Court heard Millan has previous convictions for 76 offences – including four robberies – and first began taking drugs at the age of 14. However following his last term of imprisonment he had gone straight and started his own stonemasonry business.
Brian Simpson, prosecuting, said that at around 6pm on November 19 last year police officers on patrol in Woodford Road in Blaenymaes, Swansea, approached the open door of parked car to speak to the driver only for Millan to quickly try to close the door. After a "brief struggle" he was detained and searched and officers found he had flick knife in his jacket pocket and another knife stuffed down his trousers.
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Police searched the car and found a small number of wraps of heroin and cocaine. The court heard the defendant's phone was seized and checked and officers found messages relating to the supply of cocaine over the previous three weeks. Millan subsequently answered "no comment" to all questions asked during his interview
Shaun Millan, of no fixed abode, admitted possession of heroin with intent to supply, possession of cocaine with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of cocaine, and two counts of possession of a bladed article. He has 24 previous convictions for 76 offences including four robberies – one being the knifepoint robbery of a taxi driver – as well assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon. His last conviction was for burglary at Sheffield Crown Court in 2014.
Andrew Evans, for Millan, said the defendant had been abusing controlled substances since the age of 14 and at the time of the offending was sleeping in his car or on friends' sofas and supplying drugs in small quantities to fellow addicts. He said after his release from his last custodial sentence in 2014 Millan had vowed to turn his back on drugs and on offending, had formed a new relationship which produced two children, and had trained as a stonemason before starting his own business. But the advocate said that following the end of that relationship Millan had returned to drugs.
Recorder Neil Owen-Casey told Millan he had carefully read the letter which he had written to him and could see the defendant had a plan for how he wanted his life to progress in the future. The judge said the reality of the situation was the defendant had been dealing drugs to fund his own habit.. Millan was jailed for a total of three years of which he will serve up to half in custody before being released on licence.
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