Published date: 16 October 2015 |
Published by: Staff reporterRead more articles by Staff reporterEmail reporter
A MAN who runs a successful bouncy castle hire and manufacturing company has been jailed for supplying cannabis.
Jake William Walsh, 25, denied the offence at an earlier hearing but was convicted by a jury.Walsh, of Maes Ebbertson Place in Rhos-on-Sea, was said to have turned his back on his old associates and was now a successful businessman.
He had a partner who had given birth to twins.
But he was jailed for a year by Miss Recorder Gaynor Lloyd, sitting at Mold Crown Court.
The court heard prosecution allegations that Walsh was a middle man – who supplied skunk cannabis to dealers from the grower.
He had previous convictions for cannabis supply – but that was when he was aged 15.
The defendant had previous convictions for 16 offences – 11 of which were said to be drug related.
Prosecuting barrister Clare Jones described him as a middle man, supplying skunk cannabis from the grower to street dealers.
During trial, he denied possessing the class B drug with intent to supply and said that he smoked large quantities of cannabis daily and had done so for many years.
It was for his own personal use, he claimed.
Simon Killeen, defending, urged the court to impose a suspended prison sentence.
The offence went back to July 2014 and his trial had been listed “more times than I care to remember.”
He had left his previous life behind him, moved areas, got a job working for a bouncy castle business, the person who owned it became ill and the defendant had taken over the business.
“Since September of last year he has been running the business,” Mr Killeen explained.
“He and his family rent a cottage and the business is very successful.”
The gross profits for the hire side were £50,000 and for the manufacturing side £46,000 – a total gross profit of £96,000.
He employed three people.
“This man’s life has effectively been transformed,” said Mr Killeen.
“His life is now totally different.”
He was a hard working man. There were still some cannabis issues and he suggested a suspended sentence with a drug rehabilitation requirement.
Mr Killeen urged the court not to send him to prison which would catapult him back into the company of the sort of people he had got away from.
The judge said that on July 24 last year people executed a search warrant at his then home address and found five packages of skunk cannabis each weighting 28 grammes.
The jury had convicted him of being a middle man, taking the cannabis from the grower and selling it on to street dealers.
She said that the potential street value of the seized cannabis was £1,400.
There were aggravating features – his previous convictions for supplying drugs although she accepted that they were a long time ago.
There was no evidence who he would have supplied and she said that she would not speculate on that.
For the full story see - http://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/153862/rhos-on-sea-bouncy-castle-firm-boss-jailed-for-supplying-cannabis.aspx
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