Prison for Mansfield man who tried to stash mamba under traffic cone at start of new drug-dealing business
A Mansfield man who tried and failed to stash mamba under a traffic cone in the early days of his new drug-dealing operation has been jailed.
Police officers spotted Jason Smith behind the Swan pub and found a small blue bag, containing £90 - £150 of the class B drug, at 10.05am, on October 28, 2023, Nottingham Crown Court was told.
When his home was searched, up to £200 of mamba was found in the living room, along with scales, "calling cards" with his telephone number, and customer lists.
Smith, now aged 50, told police he planned to keep half the mamba and sell the rest and was “in the early days of his drug dealing enterprise.”
He was arrested with a serrated bread-knife in his bag and apparently under the influence of drugs, on Leeming Street, at 4pm, on March 28 this year.
The court heard he has 54 previous convictions for 92 offences, including five for possessing offensive weapons, 14 for class B drug possession, and one for supplying class A drugs in 2008.
“The knife wasn’t brandished or used to threaten anyone,” Smith’s barrister said. “I can’t get away from his record.
"He hit upon the brilliant idea of funding his own mamba use by selling some of what he bought.”
The court heard Smith, who has served in the armed forces, suffered extensive burns and crush injuries after being dragged into heavy machinery in “the most horrendous industrial accident”.
“He turned to drugs,” his barrister said. “That was his life blighted.
“He has a long-standing diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, exacerbated by drug-induced paranoia."
Smith, of Redgate Close, Mansfield, admitted possessing a blade in a public place and possession with intent to supply on April 2.
On Wednesday, Judge Steven Coupland told him: “This is the sixth occasion you have had a blade in public and were on drugs at the time which make you angry and paranoid.
“It’s a very short hop from there to causing serious injury, or worse, to somebody.”
Sentencing him to 14 months in prison, the judge told Smith: “I hope you can stay away from knives and drugs on your release from prison. If you don’t, the sentences are going to get longer and longer.”