A man started selling cannabis after racking up a drug debt of £15,000. Joshua James Atkinson used cannabis to deal with pain from a muscle wasting condition - but ended up owing a five-figure sum in process.
Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard that Atkinson, 26, was stopped by police on Heath Street, Cardiff, along with his associate Mark Holmes, 38, on April 23, 2021. Officers found drugs, £170 in cash and phones as well as a Stanley knife inside the vehicle.
Passenger Atkinson appeared to be deleting messages from a phone, while a second "burner" phone was also found by cops. A third phone - a Nokia owned by Holmes - contained messages indicative of drug supply. Five bags of white powder were also found, one which contained two grams of cocaine. Both men were arrested and had their homes searched.
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At Atkinson’s property, 270g of cannabis was found, along with six bags containing cocaine worth £180. Digital scales were also found, along with £340 in cash. In an interview, Atkinson said he was an old friend of Holmes and had been driving around with him before the two men were arrested. He claimed that the cocaine at the house was not his, but for Holmes’ use and that he was keeping it at the property to regulate his use of it. He had said that the cannabis found was for personal use and not for supply, the court heard.
At Holmes’ address, a small amount of what was described as “green vegetable matter” was found. The three phones found were also examined, with texts concerned with street dealing found. Texts on one of the phones indicated that Atkinson had run up a drug debt in the region of £15,000.
Defending Atkinson, Luis Williamson, said his client lived with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), a muscle wasting condition and that he had been using cannabis to deal with daily pain at the time. The court heard that he was in “gainful employment”, no longer had links to the criminal world and had also stopped using drugs.
The court also heard that Holmes is currently in prison - serving a 20 month prison sentence for his involvement in the supply of crack cocaine and letting his premises be used for the supply of heroin. His barrister, Huw Bowden said that Holmes was found to have been “cuckooed” in his property.
“His state in 2021 was that of a drug addict,” Mr Bowden told the court. “That state continued until his arrest in February 2022.” He added: “He was being held captive in his home address.” Holmes, of Metal Street, Cardiff, had taken time to deal with his addiction since his arrest in 2022, the court heard.
Atkinson, of Kenwood Road, Cardiff, pleaded guilty plea for the possession of cocaine and being concerned in the supply of cannabis. Holmes pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article and being concerned in the supply of cocaine.
Judge David Harris acknowledged that Atkinson had had a “very large drug debt in the region of £15,000” at the time of his arrest, and was engaged in the supply of cannabis to repay this. Judge Harris added that he was satisfied that Atkinson “showed genuine remorse for the supply of cannabis” and that there was a chance of rehabilitation. He was handed a sentence of two months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and 18 hours of unpaid community work. Holmes, who had 23 previous convictions, was sentenced to a total of 27 months for the possession of a bladed article and possession of cocaine with intent to supply.
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