Julian Thorpe, a drug “cuckoo,” was caught with £4,000 of heroin. He received a suspended jail sentence.
His lawyer said Thorpe was addicted early on and his drug crimes paid for his own habit. He has quit the drug scene and has been clean for over a year now.
Thorpe, who lived in Norton, pleaded guilty to possessing heroin for supply and possessing methadone illegally.
The prosecutor said Thorpe was essentially a “cuckoo” who held drugs for others. He got a small amount of drugs for doing so and supplied roughly six friends, all users.
The judge spoke about heroin’s negative impacts, noting that it leads to theft and burdens NHS staff. They must help addicts instead of other patients.
The judge told Thorpe he was now very different and then suspended Thorpe’s 20-month jail sentence for 18 months. He must do 15 days of rehab, and police seized £700 they found at his place.
Police raided Thorpe’s home in October 2022. He was in his room holding heroin, and he also had heroin in his pockets.
The heroin weighed 88.52 grams and was worth £4,000. He also had 16 methadone bottles, whose value was about £82.
Police found scales plus a phone with heroin deals. Thorpe said he simply found the heroin and kept it.
He had a prior conviction from 1998 for cannabis supply. He avoided crimes between 2002 and 2015, and since then, he had no other offenses.
His lawyer mentioned he had a car accident in 2020 that gave him a back injury. He also has a pancreas issue, and arthritis has plagued him since age 24.
He also suffered abuse as a child, and this trauma gave him PTSD.