A YOUNG Carlisle man who was caught dealing cocaine on a city street has been spared an immediate jail sentence.

Aidan Roberts, 20, who was aged 18 when police found him with four wraps of cocaine on the city’s Wigton Road, was grateful that police stopped him from getting more involved in the drugs trade, a judge was told.

The defendant had earlier pleaded guilty to an offence of possessing the class A drug with intent to supply.

The court heard that the offending came to light when police who were making routine enquiries on May 12, 2021, became suspicious of the then teenager after seeing him on the street.

When the officers searched him, they found he had four wraps of cocaine worth £160.

He also had a “burner phone”. Police believed the defendant, of Helvellyn Rise, Carlisle, was selling the drug over a two-week period.

In court, defence lawyer Mark Shepherd said the case had already had a serious impact on the defendant’s family as since the case was first reported locally windows had been smashed at Roberts’ family home.

“The family were not ready for that and not anticipating it,” said Mr Shepherd. The incident meant the defendant was now under no illusion about the corrosive effect of being involved in drugs.

The lawyer said the prosecution had been “heart-breaking” for the defendant’s parents, who had worked to ensure he had the best education and was not subjected to negative influences.

He had attended college and got himself a driving licence. But he had found himself in the position of “not being able to say no”. “This was the wrong thing to do,” said the lawyer, referring to the offending.

“He didn’t have the ability to say no. In one sense, he’s grateful to the police for stopping this while it was in its infancy.” Mr Shepherd said Roberts had been naive. He became involved with males who were older than him and while there were no explicit threats the spectre of what might happen if he said no was there.

Mr Shepherd added: “There is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.”

Passing sentence, Recorder Julian Shaw commented on the Class A drug involved, cocaine, telling Roberts: “It’s a scourge on our society. It’s a dangerous drug; it ruins people’s lives.”

The judge accepted that Roberts was “prevailed upon, encouraged, or coerced” by other people more criminally sophisticated that himself to begin selling what he called “this pernicious drug on the street.”

Recorder Shaw urged the defendant to look towards the public gallery, where the defendant's parents and sister sat weeping as they watched the case.  He told Roberts: “You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself.

“They are supporting you, as they have done throughout their lives.” They trauma they were experiencing was the result – directly or indirectly – of Roberts’ “gross stupidity”, said the judge.

But noting that Roberts had been young and impressionable, the Recorder drew back from an immediate jail term. Instead, he imposed an 18-month prison term, suspended for two years.

The sentence includes 250 hours of unpaid work and 30 rehabilitation activity days. Glancing once more towards the public gallery, the judge added: “There are three people over there you owe an enormous apology to for the distress you have caused them. Don’t ever come back before the court again, Mr Roberts.”