A three-time convicted drug dealer who claimed a cannabis crop potentially worth more than £50,000 discovered in his home was for his personal use has been handed a suspended prison sentence. Judge Recorder Richard Pratt KC rejected the explanation, stating he did not 'for one minute' accept it.
Police raid and discovery
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday that police attended Beveridge's rented home on Amanda Road in Fazakerley on April 29 this year. They found 107 cannabis plants growing across three separate rooms. The grow was estimated to yield between 2.9kg and 8.9kg, with a potential street value of £11,985 to £53,928.
No one was present at the time of the raid. However, Beveridge handed himself in at a police station just over a week later on May 9. The 33-year-old later accepted under interview that he was responsible for the plants but said he 'wasn't sure what he was going to do with them'.
Claims and criminal history
Beveridge later told the author of a pre-sentence report that the cannabis would have been for his own personal use. However, prosecutor Shannon Stewart noted that Beveridge no longer advanced this claim. The court heard he has 16 previous convictions for 30 offences, including a suspended prison sentence for possession of cannabis resin with intent to supply in 2014, 42 months for possession of heroin and cocaine with intent to supply in 2021, and 18 months for possession of cannabis with intent to supply in 2022. He also received 10 months for assaulting an emergency worker and possession of a prohibited item in a prison in July 2023.
Defence and mitigation
Sarah Griffin, defending, told the court that her client 'did not maintain' the account given in the pre-sentence report. She added: 'He had managed to stay out of trouble for what was a decent period of time for him, but then his Universal Credit was stopped through no fault of his own.'
Griffin explained that Beveridge's drug use started when he was 13. 'He has recognised that it is finally time to stop. He is motivated by wanting future contact with his children. He now recognises the benefits of employment. I understand that he has been offered training and a job by his auntie's partner. He wants to look after his grandmother, who is currently in a care home.'
She added: 'It would be hoped, if the defendant is given this one opportunity, he would be able show that now is the time for him to stop offending. He handed himself in to the police. That, he says, is all part of him demonstrating that he wants to stop and now is the time.'
Sentence and warning
Beveridge admitted one count of production of cannabis. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was handed a 20-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months with 100 hours of unpaid work, a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 10 days, and a 12-month drug rehabilitation requirement.
Sentencing, Recorder Richard Pratt KC said: 'It is abundantly clear to me that this was a venture which you undertook to make money. I do not for one minute accept, and you no longer put forward, the explanation that this was for your own personal use. You have a proven record in the supply of drugs, including the supply, on one occasion, of class A drugs.'
He continued: 'The onus is very much upon you. This is intended to be an intensive course to give you an opportunity to rid yourself of a life cycle where you are repeatedly going to prison because of, amongst other things, your addiction to drugs. I am persuaded that I ought to give you that opportunity.'
The judge concluded: 'This is the fourth occasion that you have appeared before the court for the supply of drugs. You are being given a chance today. I strongly suspect that, if you do not take it and change your lifestyle, it will probably be the last chance you get, so take it.'
