A CARLISLE drug addict who was pressured into dealing to pay off a debt has been spared an immediate prison sentence.
Long-term heroin user Michael John Kenney got himself into financial arrears after changing his supplier around the turn of 2018.
Carlisle Crown Court heard that for the first time in his life, 54-year-old Kenney then turned to dealing heroin under coercion. But on April 14, he was seen by police at Greystone Road in the city to take items from a plastic bag and hand them to another male.
And when police detained Kenney, he produced a Kinder egg containing nine heroin deals, and £250 cash.
Kenney, of Raven Nook, Carlisle, admitted possessing heroin with intent to supply, and also possessing cannabis which was also found on him.
He was sentenced today (FRI), when Recorder Kevin Grice heard the defendant was “determined” to address his heroin problem. He had kept out of trouble since April and been “mostly drug-free”.
Recorder Grice – who considered handing down a prison sentence – instead imposed an intensive six-month drug rehabilitation requirement, a rehabilitation activity requirement and an electronically-monitored three-month night-time curfew. “This is not a soft option,” Recorder Grice insisted, “and if you think you have got away with this, you are very badly mistaken.”
