A son drawn into cocaine dealing by his dad returned to supplying the drug to pay off his jailed father's debts, a court has heard. Rhys Hall has now joined his dad behind bars after resuming the drugs trade just a matter of months after being handed a suspended sentence.
Sending the 21-year-old to prison, a judge said it was very sad to see the situation the defendant was in, and he told him he had not only let himself down but his family too.
Cardiff crown Court heard that last year the defendant and his dad Lyn Hall were sentenced for dealing cocaine and ecstasy - Lyn Hall was jailed but Rhys Hall was given a suspended sentence after the court heard he had cystic fibrosis. On June 3 this year police saw Hall driving on the A472 between Pontypool and Crumlin in a vehicle which checks showed was actually insured to a woman. The suspicious officer followed the vehicle until it stopped, then approached the driver. When challenged Hall admitted he was a disqualified driver.
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Sophie Keegan, prosecuting, said a search of Hall and the vehicle uncovered packets of white powder, a small quantity of the drug ketamine, and three mobile phones. The white powder turned out to be cocaine mixed with benzocaine - a local anaesthetic commonly mixed with cocaine when sold on the street - with a value of around £750. The court heard one of Hall's iPhones was password protected and could not be accessed by officers but on another iPhone officers found WhatsApp and Facebook messages about the supply of cocaine, and a dealer's tick-list showing Hall was owed some £2,000 for drugs he had supplied. Further drug-related messages were found on the third phone, a so-called burner phone.
Rhys Hall, of Gordon Avenue, Swffryd, Abertillery, had previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to supply, possession of ketamine, driving while disqualified, and driving without insurance when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has previous convictions for drug-driving, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, and being concerned in the supply of cocaine and ecstasy.
Ed Mitchard, for Hall, said he was personally disappointed to see the defendant back in the dock as he had mitigated on his behalf last year when he received the suspended sentence. He said Hall's father had been a co-defendant in the 2021 matters, and had a played a leading role in drug-dealing operation - offending which saw him given a three-year prison sentence. The advocate said it was perhaps no surprise that debts had been incurred as a result of the pair's previous arrest and conviction which the father had been unable to pay due to his incarceration, and the defendant had taken upon himself to pay them off.
Mr Mitchard added Rhys Hall's cystic fibrosis meant the prison environment would be a "very difficult" place for his client to be.
Judge Shomon Khan said it was clear from the messages recovered from the defendant's phones that he had resumed drug dealing just a matter of months after being given a suspended prison sentence for similar offending. He told the defendant: "It’s clearly of real concern that you carried on after a judge gave you a chance. When I heard about your father’s involvement, I thought that was really sad. It’s really sad to think about you at your age and at that time being drawn into that world by your father. It’s even worse to then hear that because of all those drug debts you took it on yourself to pay them off."
The judge said so many family members had come to court to support Hall that they couldn't all fit in the courtroom, and he told the defendant he had not only let himself down he had let them down to.
With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas Hall was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for the cocaine charge, two months for driving while disqualified, and one month for possession of ketamine all to run concurrently making a total of 40 months for the new offending. The judge also activated 14 months of last year's suspended sentence to run consecutively, making an overall sentence of four-and-a-half years in prison. Hall will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant was also disqualified from driving for 12 months, the ban extended by an extra 27 months to cover the length of time he will be behind bars.
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