A teenage drug dealer was found in possession of heroin and crack cocaine at a house in Cardiff which had been "cuckooed" from a mother and 11-year-old child. He attempted to escape when police raided the property but he was tasered and detained by officers.
Gabriel Hardwicke, then 18, fled after police raided the house in Llanedeyrn on December 20, 2020. When they arrived at the property, they saw someone by the front door who ran back inside, and heard the sound of crashing and running.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday heard officers ran through the house and tried to get trough the back door, which had been blocked up. They went back through the front door and ran to the back where they saw Hardwicke and another climbing over a garden fence.
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But the defendant's escape attempt failed when another officer confronted him and tasered him. The other man managed to escape and his identity remains unknown.
A search of the house resulted in the discovery of 235 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine worth a total of £2,350. A phone in Hardwicke's possession was also seized and found to be a drugs line, from which text bombs had been sent to customers advertising crack cocaine and heroin.
The defendant, of Hillrise, Pentwyn, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply controlled drugs of class A. The court heard he was of previous good character. It was accepted by prosecutor Thomas Stanway Hardwicke was not playing a leading role and had no influence above those higher up in the drugs chain.
In mitigation, Karl Williams said his 20-year-old client had been attacked with a machete by three people in the lead up to his offending and began dealing in order to pay off a drug debt. He said the offence was two years old and the defendant was being treated for PTSD.
Sentencing, Judge Daniel Williams said: "You had been directed to man the drugs line being run from that address and weigh the drugs. There was no financial gain other than to pay off a drug debt. You were the victim of a serious assault in January 2020 which led you to taking cannabis and your life going into a downward spiral."
Hardwicke was sentenced to 21 months detention in a young offenders' institute suspended for two years. He was also ordered to carry out 180 hours unpaid work.
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