- Three-Year Sentencing Starting Point
- Significant Role Alleged
- Immediate Custody Avoided
MC Solicitors defended a client before the Crown Court charged with:
- Possession with intent to supply Class A controlled drugs
- Possession with intent to supply Class B controlled drugs
- Possession of criminal property
The case involved a sentencing starting point of three years’ imprisonment. The prosecution argued that the client had played a significant role in the offending.
Defence counsel advanced submissions and mitigation addressing the client’s position and the appropriate sentence.
The Crown Court imposed two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, for the Class A offence, together with concurrent three-month suspended sentences for the remaining offences.
Additional requirements included a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) days incorporating an accredited programme, forfeiture and destruction orders relating to drugs, knives and cash, and a victim surcharge.
The client avoided immediate imprisonment despite the prosecution’s submissions and the seriousness of the drug supply offences.
Every criminal case depends upon its individual facts. Previous case outcomes do not guarantee the outcome of another case.