Two men who admitted dealing cannabis have been spared jail after a court heard they had turned their lives around.
Anthony Wagstaff, 38, from Thirsk, and Merrill Smith, 49, were arrested after police descended on Smith’s home in Colburn in November 2022 to execute a drug warrant, York Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Kelly Clarke said that when police turned up at Smith’s house in Beckfield Close, Wagstaff pulled up on the drive in his works van.
Officers searched Wagstaff and the van, which smelled strongly of cannabis, and seized £350 cash and his mobile phone. He was arrested and taken into custody while other officers searched Smith’s home.
Ms Clarke said that Smith was inside the property at the time and told officers they would find cannabis in a kitchen cupboard.
The drugs were seized and a wider search of the house revealed drug-related items, including a cannabis grinder, electronic scales, brown envelopes, £350 cash, two bags of cannabis, a bag of “white powder” and a knuckle duster.
In total, just under 77g, nearly 3oz, of cannabis worth up to £620 were found inside the house.
In a subsequent search of Wagstaff’s home on the same day in November 2022, officers found just over 26g of cannabis, just under an ounce, in plastic tubs and snap bags inside his work van.
They also found a metal safe tin inside his home containing money, which Wagstaff claimed was cash he was saving up for a holiday.
They also searched his Audi car at his workplace in Thirsk and found 542g of cannabis – over half a kilo – inside the vehicle.
The drugs were worth up to £3,800.
A wider search of his workplace revealed another sizeable cannabis stash, as well as a baton and knuckle duster.
Police found incriminating text messages indicative of drug dealing on both men’s phones, said Ms Clarke.
In a police interview, Smith claimed the knuckle duster found at his house had been 3D-printed and belonged to a friend. He said the white powder was “beard dye”.
He and Wagstaff were charged with possessing cannabis with intent to supply. Wagstaff was also charged with possessing criminal cash, thought to be more than £2,000.
They admitted the offences and appeared for sentence today (August 13).
Ms Clarke said that Smith had 10 previous offences on his record and was last convicted in 2019 for failing to provide a specimen for analysis.
Wagstaff, of Long Street, Thirsk, had one previous conviction for possessing cannabis and carrying an offensive weapon.
However, judge Simon Hickey noted the inordinate delay in the drug-dealing case reaching court.
He spared defence counsel the need for mitigation because the offences occurred two-and-a-half years ago and since then both men had turned their lives around.
He said that for those reasons, and the fact they now appeared to be living law-abiding lives, he could suspend the inevitable jail sentence in both their cases.
Mr Hickey noted the “vast amount” of cannabis found in Wagstaff’s car and that the knuckle duster and baton “may have been used to scare people who might have taken your drugs”.
However, he said this was overridden by the long delay in the case reaching court, during which time neither man had reoffended.
He told the defendants: “You have changed your lives, living a law-abiding life, and to disturb it with a short (prison) sentence…would be rather unjust.”
Wagstaff was given a 10-month prison sentence suspended for a year with no community requirements because the judge wanted him “to keep working and stay out of trouble”.
Smith was given an eight-month jail sentence, also suspended for a year, with no requirements.
However, both men still face confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act which will determine how much they pay back into the public purse.
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