Judge spares Havant drug dealer jail after branding police delays as 'scandalous'

The judge pulled no punches over Hampshire police’s ‘scandalous delay’ at bringing the case against Bradley Spooner, who walked away from Portsmouth Crown Court with a suspended sentence.

Judge Hetherington said that the 22-year-old from Havant was ‘fortunate’ not to be locked up after he was caught dealing cocaine and cannabis with a street value of nearly £4,500.

The drug-pusher was also found possessing cash of £5,440 from his ill-gotten gains as well as expensive items including Rolex watches and designer Hugo Boss and Armani clothes, despite having no job and even claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance at one stage.

Cash credits from his bank account also revealed £11,612 between February 2017 to 2018 with HMRC having no records of any tax being paid.

But judge Hetherington was unimpressed at the length of time it took police to bring the case to court after catching Spooner on March 23, 2018, having spotted him acting suspiciously in his Volkswagen Golf.

The offences, ranging between September 1, 2017, to March 23, 2018, resulted in what would have been a four-and-a-half year jail term being reduced to three years due to Spooner’s good character in the interim - but still leaving the sentence outside the two-year limit to suspend.

Judge Hetherington said: ‘This is still above the length of sentence that allows me to suspend, which is very unfortunate for you.’

But the judge then added: ‘There are now positive aspects to your life; you live with a new partner who is pregnant and you also have the opportunity of employment.

‘These factors persuade me it would be unjust to send you to custody along with the scandalous delays in this case.

‘The prosecutor did not airbrush that there was no proper explanation for it. I presume it was just overlooked by the police.

‘You have been living with the prospect of going to prison for more than two years and I think it would be unjust to apply the guidelines.’

Judge Hetherington went on to say all criminal gains would be ‘stripped’ off Spooner so he would not benefit from his criminality.

He added: ‘I am departing from the guidelines which I am entitled to do because of the scandalous police delays and due to your own personal circumstances.

‘You may be fortunate but this is a highly exceptional case.’

Spooner, who was of previous good character before turning to drug-dealing to pay back a £4,000 debt to a friend, was instead given a two-year jail term suspended for two-years, told to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and attend 10 rehabilitation days.

The defendant admitted charges of supplying cocaine and cannabis - class A and class B drugs respectively - as well as possessing criminal property.

His former partner, who appeared via video-link and faced the same offences, had the charges against her dropped after the prosecution offered no evidence.

Spooner was caught by police driving at ‘excessive speed’ with no insurance before he was stopped on Bedhampton Way, Havant - sparking a ‘struggle’ as he was arrested.

A search of his property at Billys Copse, Havant, led to police seizing cocaine, cannabis, cash and drug paraphernalia, as well as a taser gun disguised as a phone which he received no separate charge for.

The designer clothes and Rolex watches were also found at the address.

Following the court hearing, Hampshire police responded to the judge’s comments.

A spokesman said: ‘We will no doubt look into the judges’ comments and see if there is anything else we could have done to speed up the way this investigation was carried out, however there are multiple factors, many not within our control, that can cause cases to take time to come to the point where we can charge someone.

‘In order to ensure a fair and thorough prosecution, investigating officers must collect all available material - whether it points towards a suspect or away.

‘This also allows for fair disclosure for the defence. It is only once all reasonable lines of enquiry have been completed that a case can be presented.

‘This can then be done so in the knowledge there is no material which would otherwise undermine the case. Whether any such material exists is not always known at the point of interview and the bar for considering an early charge, with enquiries left to complete is rightly set high.

‘In this instance we accept there was a delay in the investigation, and this was due to the complex nature of phone and drug examinations which needed completing in order to collect all available material.’

SEE ALSO: Four arrested after assault

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Thank you for reading this story. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues.

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news and information online.

Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city.