A drug dealer caught with crack cocaine and heroin after he fled from a stolen car following a police pursuit in Leeds has been jailed for four and a half years.
Ruel Craig was also wearing a stab vest when he was stopped nearby by officers, and a machete and two combat knives were found in the car. Shortly before 1pm on Saturday, December 31 last year, officers in a marked police vehicle in Armley Road, Leeds, sighted a Mercedes C220 that had recently been reported stolen.
The Mercedes pulled out of the queue of slow-moving traffic and sped away with officers in pursuit. The Mercedes was driven dangerously, hitting speeds of 70mph in 40mph zones, ignoring give way signs and narrowly avoiding collisions with other vehicles while cutting across multiple lanes of traffic.
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The car then crashed into another car and a van at the junction of Park Lane and the A58 and Inner Ring Road. Craig was seen to get out of the driver’s door and ran off as three other males escaped from the passenger side and made off in the opposite direction.
An officer chased Craig onto an elevated footbridge before he jumped onto a grass bank about 12ft below to get away. He was seen crossing the A58 before entering a vehicle tunnel against the flow of traffic heading towards Wellington Street.
He was intercepted by officers as he left the 60-metre stretch of tunnel and was detained. When searched he was found to be wearing a black stab vest along with a balaclava and black gloves. He was found in possession of individual wraps of crack cocaine and heroin worth £190, a small amount of cannabis as well as £885 in cash.
The Mercedes was searched, and a machete and two combat knives were found in the front passenger side footwell. Footage from the pursuing police car’s camera also appeared to show one of the passengers carrying a further machete when they ran off from the crash scene.
When Craig was tested for drugs in police custody, he gave negative results for both heroin and cocaine showing he was not a regular user of either drug. Following an investigation by officers from Leeds District Crime Team, he was charged with a number of offences, including possession of crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply, and dangerous driving.
At a hearing at Leeds Crown Court on Monday, Craig, aged 26, of Meanwood Valley Close, Leeds, pleaded guilty to the drugs matters and was sentenced to 50 months imprisonment. He received a consecutive four-month term after admitting dangerous driving, and a concurrent three-month sentence for possessing criminal property in relation to the seized cash.
Detective Sergeant Rob Kennerley, of Leeds District Crime Team, said: “The offences Craig has been convicted of show him to be someone involved in the destructive trade in Class A drugs, which fuels crime and anti-social behaviour in our communities and does significant damage to the lives of individual users and their families.
“He was also prepared to put the safety of other members of the public at risk when he attempted to evade officers at the wheel of a stolen car.
“We hope the significant prison sentence he has received will provide some reassurance to the community and send a clear message to others who think they can flout the law in this way without having to face the consequences.”
