Operating two mobile phones used in the supply of Class A drugs cost a Bristol teenager a suspended jail term. Steve Franks-Taylor admitted using cocaine and cannabis from the age of 16, Bristol Crown Court heard.
When his drug use turned into a drug problem he fell into debt with dealers. He then agreed to operate two mobiles used for two "drug lines" to pay them back.
Franks-Taylor, 19, whose address was given as a bail hostel in Stroud, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and diamorphine from September 2022 to May this year. He also admitted possessing criminal property in the sum of £600.
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The recorder Mr David Chidgey handed him a 16-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months. He told Franks-Taylor: "You had a lesser role and acted under direction. There was a degree of pressure, you were naive and you had no awareness of the scale of the operation."
Franks-Taylor was ordered to do up to 40 days' rehabilitation. He was also handed 100 hours' unpaid work. Jack Barry, prosecuting, said police found Franks-Taylor with the phones. Analysis of the devices revealed they were used for the supply of drugs, with bulk messaging being sent out attributed to Franks-Taylor.
Franks-Taylor gave police a prepared statement in which he said he was merely handling phone calls. He said he was not involved in handling drugs.
Mr Barry said: "The Crown accepts the defendant had a relatively limited function and was acting under direction. There is no evidence to suggest that he was involved by intimidation or grooming." Mr Barry added, however, that an alleged attack on the home of a member of Franks-Taylor's family is being investigated.
Caighli Taylor, defending, said her client "ticked every box" within the lesser role sentencing category. She said her client was bright at school but, after the pandemic, became "lonely and isolated".
Miss Taylor told the court: "He was not dealing on the streets, he was facilitating street deals. He is drug-free now and he's signed up to a job agency. He deeply regrets involvement in these offences."
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