Jail for Mansfield dealer who hid heroin and cocaine on convenience store shelf
A Mansfield drug dealer who tried to hide wraps of heroin and cocaine among items on the shelf of a convenience store and was "easy prey for people who don't want to get their hands dirty," has been jailed.
Police officers followed Jamie Cooke into Manny's on Carsic Lane, Sutton, and spotted him reaching for the shelf at 11.20am on April 6, 2023, Nottingham Crown Court was told.
He was searched in relation to another offence and £165 in cash, a mobile phone and a set of scales, along with £480 of cocaine and £130 of heroin were found on him, Abigail Hill, prosecuting, said.
The phone contained at least one message relating to the sale of drugs and a dealer list was found at his home.
Cooke, aged 39, formerly of Willoughby Court, admitted possession with intent to supply class A drugs when he appeared in court on September 18, last year.
Benn Robinson, mitigating, said “the sad reality” was Cook has been “dogged by a chronic addiction to hard drugs for most of his adult life.”
“A difficult upbringing was the catalyst but to his credit he is not someone who resorted to selling drugs before,” he said.
“Despite that there have been pockets of stability when he tried to hold down jobs but he hasn't managed to beat his addiction.
"He had run up a modest debt. He is easy prey for people who don't want to get their hands dirty themselves.”
Cooke deserved credit for his early guilty plea and has been in custody since last August, he added.
"It is the longest period in custody he has experienced,” said Mr Robinson. “He has been entirely abstinent of any illicit substances. He has sought to engage with education.”
The court heard Cooke has 47 previous convictions for 158 offences - five of which are for drug possession but none for supply. He was on bail for possessing an offensive weapon at the time he was arrested.
He admitted the offences on the basis of playing a lesser role he was pressed into dealing because of his addiction.
"This represents an escalation of your offending behaviour,” Recorder Jas Jandu told him on Thursday.
Cooke was sentenced to 26 months in prison.