When a heroin-dealing dad-of-six was arrested and his phone rang in custody it played a "Hello, I'm your drug dealer" ringtone, a court has heard.
David Owens had been caught red-handed selling heroin to a man on a Swansea street and was being dealt with by officers when the mobile went off. The customer he had sold drugs to ran off when police approached but was chased and detained.
Swansea Crown Court heard the pair were arrested in the Mount Pleasant area of the city on the afternoon of January 29 2020. Ian Wright, prosecuting, said plain-clothes officers were on patrol in the community when they saw two men on Portia Terrace conducting "an exchange".
The officers approached the men while shouting "Police!" to identify themselves - Owens was detained while his customer, Matthew Wright, ran away. Wright was chased by one of the officers, and as he ran was seen to discard a package. The 34-year-old running man was caught and the package recovered, and was found to contain £150 worth of heroin.
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Meanwhile, as 48-year-old Owens was being detained by officers his phone rang and the ringtone was "Hello it's your drug dealer". Owens was searched - becoming "agitated" - and was found to be carrying £180 cash. A subsequent search of Owens' house found wraps of heroin worth around £900 along with three weighing scales, a tick-list of money owed, and £7,646 in cash.
David Gareth Aaron Owens, of Hanover Street, Uplands, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of heroin with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of heroin, and possession of criminal property - the money - when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has 26 previous convictions for 159 offences including perverting the course of justice, possession of cannabis, and weapons offences.
Matthew John Wright, of Arthur Street, Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, had previously pleaded guilty to the simple possession of heroin when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has 24 previous convictions for 46 offences.
Anthony O'Connell, for Owens, said the defendant was a dad-of-six with an "addictive personality" for drink and drugs whose life had spiralled downwards after "getting in with the wrong people". He pointed to the age of the offending and noted the case had taken some time to make its way to court. Kate Williams, for Wright, also pointed to the delay in the case.
With a 15% discount for his guilty pleas recorder Christian Jowett sentenced Owens to four years and three months in prison. The defendant will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. With a one-third discount for his guilty plea to possession, Wright was fined £300.
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