Bassetlaw man jailed for selling hard drugs while armed with baseball bat and CS gas

Nottingham Crown Court heard police stopped Darren Taylor in his car in Retford, on October 18, 2019, with drugs, cash, a baseball bat and a can of CS gas.

Jon Fountain, prosecuting, said a search of Taylor’s home revealed 38 grams of cocaine, valued at £3,000, and more than £25,000 in cash.

Taylor, aged 39, of Everton Sluice Lane, Everton, admitted possession with intent to supply cocaine and possession of offensive weapons.

Sentencing, Mr Recorder William Harbage KC told him: “You were dealing to a number of customers – certainly in double figures – sometimes as much as two ounces.

“In 2019 I have read you were at a low ebb. You had an accident at work, you were unable to work and you had financial problems.

“You resorted to cocaine, you got into debt and started to pay off that debt by selling cocaine.

“The supply of drugs is such a pernicious trade because it sucks people in.

“That's why the court treats it as seriously as it does and that's why the court can't overlook what you were doing in 2019.

“You have some previous convictions - not many and they're old – and they don’t include the supply of drugs.

“You have a great deal of mitigation. I have read with great care the references that you have produced and letters written by you and your partner. I found them impressive.

“For this reason I find this falls at the bottom end of the range. There has been a delay since your arrest and that's not your fault.”

Mr Record Harbage said Taylor had made “considerable efforts to turn his life around”, and now has a fiancée, work with good prospects and charitable work – all of which “allows me to reduce the sentence to a relatively low level”.

However, he told Taylor: “The court has a duty to the public, not just you, and I can’t overlook you were involved in the supply of class A drugs.”

Taylor was jailed for a total of 30 months.