Sutton drug dealer avoided seven-year jail sentence because of court delays
A drug dealer who was caught selling crack cocaine and heroin in a Sutton alleyway has avoided a seven-year prison sentence because it took so long for the case to come to court.
Dijon Brown was “nervous” and “fidgeting in his trousers” when officers stopped him riding his bike between Station Road and Reform Street at 12.30pm on October 28, 2022, Nottingham Crown Court was told.
A search revealed he was hiding 34 wraps of heroin and 154 wraps of cocaine in his underwear, valued at more than £2,000, said prosecutor Matthew Haynes.
Brown was also carrying £517 cash and a mobile phone that contained messages relating to the supply of drugs.
The court heard Brown, now 24, gave a no-comment interview. He has six previous convictions for 11 offences – nine of which are drug-related.
He received a 24 month sentence, suspended for two years, for possession with intent to supply cocaine at Derby Crown Court, in September 2018.
And he was jailed for five years at Nottingham Crown Court in April for further drug dealing committed in July last year.
Brown, currently of HMP Stocken, admitted possession with intent to supply class A drugs on July 24.
Brown's defence barrister urged the judge to pass the shortest possible sentence.
“He is a young man,” she said. “This is a clean slate for him. Once he has served this sentence he hopes to make a fresh start.”
“The delay has worked very much in his favour," said Recorder Justin Wigoder on Wednesday.
He told Brown that courts should pass a seven-year sentence for those with three convictions for dealing class A drugs.
“This is your third conviction,” he said. “But it is frankly your great good fortune that it took so long to come through the courts. I have to deal with it as though it is your second.”
He passed a concurrent sentence of five years which means Brown will only have a few months added to the sentence he is currently serving.
"You pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court so you obviously get the full credit for two serious offences you committed as long ago as October 2022,” he said. “You were out on the streets dealing class A drugs and these are not small quantities.”