'Self-rehabilitated' drug dealer let off jail by judge after 'Hampshire police delays'

The case indicates the state of the criminal justice system before lockdown – with concerns remaining as many proceedings have been adjourned into the future causing a logjam of future hearings.

Denyl Daniel was arrested in the ‘county lines-linked case’ when he and two other men were spotted with two suspected drug addicts near Sovereign Gate in Portsmouth on October 5, 2018.

When he was stopped and taken to the police station he admitted what he had done - but it took 14 months until he had his first court appearance due to police delays.

Hampshire police is now reviewing the judge’s comments - looking at the unrelated case highlighted by The News of a teenage boy handed an absolute discharge for crashing a car after delays in his case.

Police watched as Daniel, 22, of Reginald Ellingworth Street, Dagenham, London, passed something to an addict and received something back, then went into Sovereign Gate.

As he left the building he was arrested and officers found three class A wraps on him, a phone, and a key to a flat.

Drugs and £860 cash was in a money box in the flat. In all the 130 wraps seized - just under 40g cocaine and heroin - were worth around £6,650 to £7,980 on the street.

Recorder John Williams decided to spare him prison after hearing of the delays in police bringing the case to the Crown Prosecution Service, Mr Hutchings saying there was not a ‘shred’ of information to tell the court why, and being told Daniel has ‘effectively rehabilitated himself’ and is now a security guard and trainee engineer.

Speaking of the delay, the judge said: ‘It’s effectively a very cruel thing to have been done to anyone. Goodness knows what you must have been thinking and going through as you waited.’

He said the delay was a ‘unconscionable and cruel period’ to wait.

Judge Williams added: ‘I have never not sent someone to prison in such circumstances.'

Daniel made admissions about what he was up to at the police station. The Crown Prosecution Service was handed a file on August 30, 2019.

Prosecutors made a pre-charge decision by September 30 and sent this to police, with a postal requisition issued ordering Daniel to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on January 14.

Daniel admitted two charges of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

Detective Chief Superintendent Stuart Murray said: ‘We will look into the comments made by the judge in this case to see if there is anything else we could have done to speed up the investigation, and will of course take action on any findings to improve our practices where necessary.

‘However there are on occasions multiple factors, many not within our control, that can cause delays within our investigations and getting to the point of charge or issue of the postal requisition.

‘Using bail instead of an RUI (released under investigation) disposal would not necessarily mean that we could achieve a charging decision any quicker.

‘It is often the case with drug-related investigations that a substantial amount of forensic work is required to secure enough evidence to meet the full code test for prosecution.

‘This work can take months to finalise due to its complexities, and the resources required to undertake this work on top of the other demands within those departments.

‘In this particular case, the forensic work was completed by the end of June 2019, before officers were in a position to seek initial charging advice from CPS in August.’

Daniel was handed a 21-month jail term suspended for 18 months with 280 hours’ unpaid work. He must pay £425 costs. The case was heard in March.

The court heard there were two co-defendants. One was also requisitioned but did not turn up to court. Another claims to be a victim of modern slavery and was being assessed through the national referral mechanism.

Separately, a 16-year-old appeared who at Portsmouth Youth Court and admitted careless driving and having no insurance after crashing a Mercedes car in Gosport in August 2019.

He was only served papers on February 21 - two days before a six-month limit to prosecute. He had been interviewed in October 2019.

In this case, the boy was handed an absolute discharge due to police delays.

Sentencing, district judge Gary Lucie said there had been an 'unjustified delay in this case (and) it's had a concrete effect on (the defendant)' in that the boy's entry to the services had been delayed.

Det Chief Supt Murray told The News: ‘We are looking into the judges’ comments to see if there is anything else we could have done to speed up the investigation and will of course take action on any findings.

‘However there are on occasions multiple factors, many not within our control, that can cause delays within our investigations and getting to the point of charge or issue of the postal requisition.’

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