‘You killed my son': Explosion victim's mother sobs as cannabis gummy dealer sentenced
A drug dealer who caused the death of a seven-year-old boy in an explosion has been sent to prison for 14 years.
Reece Galbraith and his friend Jason 'Jay' Laws were using a Newcastle flat as a drugs lab when a blast ripped through the building in the early hours of October 16.
The explosion killed both Laws and Archie York, who was asleep in the flat above.
Galbraith, of Rectory Road, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, admitted two counts of manslaughter as well as possessing and supplying cannabis, at a hearing in April.
He was sentenced on Wednesday at Newcastle Crown Court.
Archie's mother, Katherine Errington, shouted 'you killed my son' at Galbraith as she read her victim impact statement in court.
She sobbed as she told the defendant: 'You brought gas canisters into a building where families lived. You ran a drugs operation under the floor where my children slept.
'You took risks for profit and didn't care who got hurt. You killed my son.'
The blast on Violet Close, Benwell, wrecked the street and made families homeless.
The court heard it destroyed six out of the 12 flats in the block and was followed by a 'fierce fire', which caused so much damage the whole block has since been demolished.
Police investigating the explosion discovered that the flat operated by Galbraith and Laws was used as a 'drugs lab' to produce cannabis concentrates, known as 'shatter' or 'butane honey oil', in a highly dangerous process.
The product was then turned into cannabis edibles, also known as 'gummies'.
Archie was asleep on the sofa with his father, Robbie York, when the blast ripped through the family home.
Ms Errington was pulled out of the rubble by Mr York, who also found Archie's seven-week-old brother Finley, covered in dust but 'astonishingly unharmed', in the wreckage.
But Mr York could not find Archie and they were told later that he had died.
Ms Errington said she was 'furious' when she was informed within a week of Archie's death that shatter was being made in the flat below.
Prosecutor David Brooke KC said Laws had been using the flat for months and there was 'little purpose' for it other than the production of cannabis.
The court heard Galbraith, Laws' partner in the 'enterprise', was found walking away from the street immediately after the explosion asking about his friend.
He suffered extensive burns and was in hospital for about a month, initially in an induced coma.
At the time of the explosion, Galbraith was already being investigated for being concerned in the supply of cannabis, after police stopped his car in April and found cannabis bush, a set of scales and cannabis sweets.
Officers later found 250 cannabis sweets, moulds and 300g of a sweet mixture when they searched his house.
He was released pending further investigation.
Police also found evidence on his phone that he was dealing in cannabis and cannabis sweets 'full-time' with Laws from at least as far back as November 2023.
Experts found that the explosion was caused by the ignition of liquid butane gas, which had been released and built up within the premises as part of the illegal 'shatter' production.
More than 100 butane canisters were found in the flat, Mr Brooke said, as well as other 'sophisticated and expensive' equipment'.
The prosecutor said: 'The process of making shatter is inherently dangerous because butane is highly flammable.
'It is a process that has to be done with the utmost care to avoid an explosion.'
The court heard the blast had had 'an enormous impact locally' and 10 households had to be permanently rehoused.
More than 100 people were displaced to temporary accommodation and 53 of the 80 residents will not be returning.
The financial impact is said to be about £3.7 million.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
13 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Magic circle executive banned for sexual misconduct at karaoke bar
A former employee at one of London's most prestigious law firms has been banned from working in the legal profession after touching a junior colleague's bottom in a karaoke bar. Vivek Ramsaroop has been punished after the solicitors' watchdog found that he grabbed a fellow worker's waist and started 'rubbing himself' against her while on a work night. At the time, he was an employee at the magic circle firm Linklaters. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has ruled that the incident, which took place in November 2022, amounted to 'serious sexual misconduct' and banned him from working for other law firms in Britain. As part of its findings, the SRA said Mr Ramsaroop harassed a junior colleague, referred to only as 'Employee A', at a social event organised for Linklaters' London office. The SRA said: 'Whilst at the karaoke bar, Mr Ramsaroop approached Employee A and stood closely to her talking and said the words 'you're gorgeous' and 'you're amazing'.' He then put his arms around her waist and kissed the side of her face for several seconds, the regulator said. 'Shortly afterwards, Mr Ramsaroop started dancing directly behind Employee A, grabbed her waist with both hands and touched her bottom,' the SRA added. Mr Ramaswoop then 'started rubbing himself against' his colleague on the dancefloor 'with his pelvis pressed against Employee A's bottom,' the watchdog said. During his time at Linklaters, Mr Ramaswoop – whose last known address was in Johannesburg – was involved in Linklaters' legal practice but not employed as a solicitor. He specialises in mergers and acquisitions. The SRA said Mr Ramaswoop's conduct constituted 'serious sexual misconduct' as it involved repeated physical contact directed towards a junior colleague. As a result, the regulator issued a so-called 'Section 43' notice against Mr Ramaswoop, which restricts firms from employing individuals deemed to have committed misconduct, even if they are not working as lawyers. Mr Ramaswoop was also ordered to pay a portion of the SRA's £1,350 legal bill. The regulator says it expects law firms to take a 'zero tolerance' approach to sexual misconduct, which covers any abuse of a person's 'professional position to initiate or pursue an improper sexual or emotional relationship'. Linklaters is one of Britain's four 'magic circle' law firms. Last year, it paid its partners an average £1.9m, while its newly-qualified lawyers received starting salaries of £150,000. A Linklaters spokesman said: 'This relates to an incident involving a former employee who had joined the firm a few weeks prior. We had reported the matter to the SRA and the individual left the firm with immediate effect.'
Daily Mail
21 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Rising star rapper took his own life after telling partner he 'was tired and ready to go' after mental health battles when he couldn't see his daughter
A rising star rapper and producer took his own life after struggling with his mental health when he was stopped from seeing his daughter, an inquest heard. Jevon Ellis, 30, accessed mental health crisis services three times in the run-up to his death on March 28 last year. But those who knew the rising star said he was 'very good at pretending he was OK to the outside world' because 'his career as a rapper and producer was very important to him.' Mr Ellis had played at numerous festivals, had his music used on a Nike campaign and was featured on a list of NME's top 100 new artists to watch. But in 2023 his mental health began to deteriorate, which was compounded by the fact that access to his daughter had been withdrawn. His latest partner, who had a son with Mr Ellis, said in a statement that 'keeping up an image was important to him at the cost of his overall health.' Mica Simms, who had met Mr Ellis in 2018, said she was aware that he had struggled with his mental health and had been suicidal before they had got together. 'He was having trouble regulating his emotions,' she said. 'Jevon was incredibly intelligent and loving but he would often speak about committing suicide as a means of escaping his emotional turmoil.' Coroner Jean Harkin added: 'She (Mica) was aware Jevon had something wrong with his mental health and he was suicidal at times from very early on in their relationship. 'He had told her about a previous suicide attempt that had taken place when he was with the mother of his eldest child.' The mother of his eldest child was not named, although both she and Miss Simms were present for the hearing at Inner West London Coroner's Court. On the morning of March 29 last year, Mr Ellis left Ms Simms' house and sent her a message saying 'he was going to end it all, that he was tired and ready to go.' 'He expressed he was sorry but couldn't continue the battle,' Mrs Harkin added. Ms Simms tried to communicate with him but received no answer. Mrs Harkin added: 'After a while she knew something was different this time. 'She felt in her heart that he had gone through with it.' Ms Simms went to where Mr Ellis had been living at Wimbledon Art Studios in south west London but a building manager couldn't gain access to his unit. She then asked her stepfather to try and break in and he found Mr Ellis hanging. PC Michelle Brown was the first police officer at the scene and identified the musician from his passport which was found nearby. There was no note, the door was locked from the inside and Mr Ellis had no injuries, save those caused by the noose around his neck. At 10.01am that day he had sent a text message saying: 'I'm on the chair. Bye' and had also said he 'should just hang the demon' referring to himself, the court heard. Det Sgt William Hanlan, of the Met Police, told the court he was brought in to look into whether some of the interactions between Mr Ellis and Ms Simms 'may have led to Jevon taking his own life.' There were tens of thousands of messages found on Mr Ellis' Macbook, which highlighted a 'very fractured' relationship, Det Sgt Hanlan said. 'They clearly love each other but they clearly have a love-hate relationship also,' he said. 'There has been quite a lot of discussion about suicide,' he added. 'Mica is understanding of Jevon's struggles but you can also see levels of frustration from her sometimes. 'There is a lot of heated discussion but there's nothing to suggest Mica knew or encouraged Jevon to take his own life.' He added that there had been domestic incidents between them from both sides and they were 'both either the aggressor or the victim at one time or another.' He concluded that no one else had been involved with Mr Ellis' choice to end his life. Dr Marcus Hughes, consultant psychiatrist at St George's Hospital in Tooting, south west London, outlined his team's contact with the 30-year-old and said he had no recorded history of poor mental health prior to 2023. He had three emergency assessments - one in February 2023 and two in December the same year. The one in February took place after Mr Ellis took an overdose and was taken to A&E, but he said he wasn't suicidal and had had taken the tablets 'impulsively' and 'was expressing remorse.' He was given details of a crisis line, and Dr Hughes added: 'I think what came through very strongly was his distress at not having access to his daughter.' He was given further details for Fathers4Justice and Families Need Fathers, a charity for parents, and was encouraged to return to the hospital if he felt he was unable to remain safe. But he returned for a second time on December 13, 2023, saying he was having suicidal thoughts. Dr Hughes added: 'He said he wanted help to be a better father and felt he needed therapy. 'He also spoke about cult-like behaviours he experienced producing music in Los Angeles, from big names and people of power.' Just over a fortnight later he was brought in for a third time following fears he may hang himself in his music studio. A friend abroad had called British police when he sent her a text showing an image of a noose. But he promised he wasn't suicidal and just wanted the clarification of a diagnosis, Dr Hughes added. Asked if he felt Mr Ellis had received appropriate treatment, Dr Hughes said: 'He was offered a lot of opportunity of access to mental health services and the type of problems that seem to be emerging are some emotional instability and suicidal thoughts that he wasn't completely open about. 'The likelihood is we might have helped him had he engaged with treatment over a period of months in the community, rather than emergency presentations.' The court heard that in July 2023 he told a GP that he had low mood, but wasn't suicidal and he was given a community mental health team referral, agreeing that counselling may help. A telephone consult followed in December 2023 and talking therapies were suggested but he didn't answer the phone. A further telephone consultation was offered the same month but Mr Ellis said he preferred to be contacted by email as he was abroad. There was no record of Mr Ellis being known to mental health services in Coventry, where he had lived from the age of 10 up until he moved to London in 2017. A toxicology report was clear of drugs and alcohol and the cause of death was found to be hanging. Mr Ellis' sister Ria, who attended the hearing with his parents, helped raise £13,500 for Mr Ellis' children on a Just Giving page. She said 'the Ellis family cannot even begin to convey our gratitude for the outpour of love we have received from everyone who loved and knew Jevon.' And she added: 'If you knew Jev, you knew that nothing mattered more to him than his children… 'Your kindness and compassion will help to provide Jevon's children with a glimmer of hope during this dark period of grief which is all he would have wanted.' Coroner Mrs Harkin recorded a verdict of suicide. She said: 'Jevon had no reported mental health illness prior to his later years. 'Jevon reported distress at not seeing his daughter. It's clear he saw his son, but not his daughter. 'I'm satisfied that the help that was given to Jevon was appropriate. In addition the police investigated Jevon's death and found no evidence of third person involvement. 'He was given the opportunity to look into any problems he thought he had by contact with the crisis team and other organisations and there is no evidence that any mental health diagnosis developed over time. 'Jevon performed the act himself without a third person and by performing that act Jevon intended to die. 'Although there was no note of intent it's clear that Jevon had considered hanging as a form of ending his life.' And she added: 'It's very clear that Jevon was a gifted musician. He was charismatic, confident and also encouraged to pursue his dreams. 'He was kind, generous and a mentor to others and he had two children that he loved. 'I hope that these memories give his family some comfort.'
The Sun
28 minutes ago
- The Sun
I was banged up in hellhole prison like Brit drug mules & preyed on by pervy guards… sick ways they break female inmates
HANDCUFFED to a chair and sweating profusely in a puffer jacket, Alana Moor was terrified she'd never be allowed to go home. The 24-year-old was due to fly back home to Canada from Panama when she was arrested for drug smuggling in March 2015. 16 16 People she'd considered friends had persuaded her to take a suitcase, which contained 11 kilos of cocaine stashed in the lining. Alana - who was sentenced to six years and nine months for her crime - says she was detained in a stinking prison cell where she was deprived of all basic necessities and preyed on by pervy male prison guards. So she understands only too well the horror that alleged Brit drug mules Bella Culley, 18, Charlotte May Lee, 21, will be facing in Georgia and Sri Lanka respectively, after they too were caught smuggling the illegal substance. In an exclusive chat Alana, now 38, tells The Sun: 'I was scared for my life as two armed officers put me into the back of a rickety truck. 'I didn't know where I was going, and I was terrified I was going to be raped or something. 'After a while, they pulled up to this police station with a prison attached. 'Once there I was strapped to a chair in the clothes I had planned to travel home in - winter items. 'They left me there for days, nowhere to go to the loo, wash, or not even allowed to take off a layer. It was humiliating. "I had to wipe myself with my hand when I went to the loo where I was sat. 'When the guard came to unchain me, he retched at the smell of me. Brits accused of trying to smuggle drugs into the UK from abroad are being locked away for a long time 'Just two weeks before I had been partying with NBA stars.' Alana claims she was convinced to carry the case by a client she was styling, with ambitions of becoming a fashion designer. She had been taken under the wing of the woman - who claimed to work for a famous US music star in Toronto. Alana says the woman, who' d become a friend, promised to introduce her to celebrities that could become potential clients - on the condition she took a holiday to Panama to pick up a suitcase and bring it back to Canada for the musician. Alana claims they promised to get her out of Panama safely if anything went wrong because they had top lawyers. 16 She admits she suspected the suitcase contained something illegal, telling The Sun she thought it was likely drugs, passports or cash. The friend promised Alana that on her return she'd be introduced to the music mogul and become their stylist. But her dream was shattered when border officers found the cocaine stash hidden in the suitcase lining. Alana says she was strip-searched at the airport and made to watch as cops pulled out the packages, which she'd naively thought was insulation. She was then handed a form in Spanish and told by a translator to cooperate and sign it - but later discovered it confirmed everything in the case was hers. In the first Panama prison she was detained in, Alana says they sent one meal, a bottle of water and a can of Coke, and claims it was the only food she was given while shackled to the chair. She was later moved to an all-female prison to await her court date. Violent offenders After being handed a six year, nine-month sentence, Alana was moved to an overcrowded female prison in the centre of Panama. When she arrived at the jail, she says there were 26 women to one cramped room. By the time she left that number was closer to 60. Many were in prison for murder and other violent offences. But the majority had been caught with drugs and arrested to show officials were taking an active stance in the war on drugs. 'Prison in Panama is nothing like prison in the US, Canada or the UK,' she says. 'As I was being taken in, the guard said to me, 'There are laws in this country, but as soon as you cross these bars, the laws don't apply'. 'I had nothing given to me, just the clothes I was wearing. I had to shower with laundry detergent for the first two weeks. 'I wasn't given any underwear, no toilet paper or sanitary products. When I got my period I had to free bleed, with blood soaking my clothes as I went about my day. 'Guards and other inmates would tell me I smelt like blood, but there was nothing I could do. No woman should ever be put in that position.' Thankfully Alana's parents were allowed to visit and could bring supplies and money for her to buy things she needed - but she says that didn't always make things better. 'Depending on who was guarding when we were sent outside for work, sometimes we wouldn't be allowed back in to use the bathroom," she recalls. 'And when I was on my period, that would mean I used to have to just bleed through whatever sanitary product I was wearing. It was vile.' Horrifying searches Alana claims it was common for prison guards to randomly search cells in the middle of the night or early hours of the morning to try to seize phones or drugs that had been brought into the prison. Often these raids came with humiliating strip searches for the women. 'One morning, 80 balaclava-wearing officers burst in and sprayed us with pepper spray,' she recalls. 'I was in my underwear. They took people out to be strip searched." I'd find notes in my stuff from the male guards telling me I was pretty or that they wanted me to be their girlfriend. Alana Moor Alana claims she was made to bend over and officers pointed to her tampon string, demanding she remove it. 'I tried to refuse, but they didn't care," she says. "I was then made to sit in the corner of the cell while they searched it for 45 minutes holding this bloody tampon in my hand while bleeding everywhere. 'Six male officers watched me as I left the room and then sat where I was told. It was horrendous and inhumane.' Indecent propositions 16 Male officers also brazenly attempted to woo girls they were supposed to be guarding, Alana claims. 'Often after raids I'd find notes in my stuff from the male guards telling me I was pretty or that they wanted me to be their girlfriend,' Alana says. 'They'd leave their phone number because they knew we had mobiles. I was often targeted for being the 'white gringo' in the prison.' Alana says having a mobile phone was commonplace, and hiding them became a lucrative business for inmates. Everyone was hustling to try to make money. Drugs were dropped of at night by gangs. Alana Moor Women would be paid $100 to put them in intimate places to stop them being taken, with Alana claiming some girls fit "up to five" in their private parts. 'Everyone was hustling to try to make money," she says. 'Drugs were also common. They'd be dropped in at night by gangs who would post them through the tiny letter box windows in the concrete jail.' Vile conditions Alana claims it was common for power and water at the prison to fail for days on end, leaving them without showers or facilities to wash. 'We'd be having to put our excrement in bin bags because we couldn't flush the toilets,' she recalls. 'Then we'd be given a bucket of water to shower with for the days the power was out. This was all while it was extremely hot. 'It just wasn't sanitary. I'd get sick a lot because the water wasn't particularly clean. I had to beg and pay to get purified water. There are just layers and layers of trauma being piled onto you when you're inside. They treat you like you're nothing. Alana Moor 'Often the food we were given was rotten, but you had to eat it in order to survive. 'There are just layers and layers of trauma being piled onto you when you're inside. They treat you like you're nothing.' Alana used her prison time to do every course she could, even teaching herself Spanish. She also worked out for two hours every day and helped teach other women how to exercise to keep themselves fit. Warning to Brit drug mules 16 16 16 16 16 16 Now she is a motivational speaker and offers dignity packages to women who find themselves in prison, and helps families advocate for drug mules in similar situations. Alana is horrified by the growing number of young British women who have recently been caught attempting to smuggle drugs. Former air hostess Charlotte May Lee is in a Sri Lankan jail accused of smuggling £1.2million of cannabis while pregnant Bella Culley from County Durham was arrested in Georgia for smuggling cannabis from Thailand. This week it emerged another young mum, Cameron Bradford, is being detained in Germany for allegedly smuggling cannabis in her bags on a flight from Thailand. Alana says: 'I feel so sad for them, but the best thing they can do now is take accountability for their actions, as hard as that is. 'It's easy to blame other people, but you've made this decision. The best and worst thing about prison is time, so use that time wisely. "The end goal is to come out better than you went in. 'For their parents, support and love your child. They need you now more than ever. "They know they've made a mistake, and getting mad at them won't make that any better. "I will be reaching out to their families to offer help and support in any way I can.' Alana Moor is founder of The Hour Glass Movement, which provides dignity packages to women in prison. She also works as a motivational speaker, life coach and an advocate for women in prison, working with Lenola PR. Why Brit backpackers are prime targets, Thai cop reveals By Patrick Harrington Police Lieutenant Colonel Arun Musikim, Deputy Inspector of the Surat Thani province police force, said: 'Cases involving British nationals smuggling cannabis have been around for a while. 'There is a lot of cannabis grown on Thailand's islands in the south because the climate is suitable and it is legal. A lot of gangs are attracted to this. 'There are now various smuggling methods that we have seen. Some carry it themselves, some hire backpackers, and some send it via mail. 'This year, there have been many cases we have intercepted. Most involve British and Malaysian nationals. 'It's easy for British citizens to travel as they can enter Thailand and return to the UK without needing a visa. 'Most of the smugglers are people hired to carry the cannabis, similar to how tourists might smuggle tax-free goods. 'They're usually unemployed individuals from the UK. The gangs offer them flights, pocket money and hotel stays, just to come and travel and take a bag back home with them. 'These people often have poor social standing at home and are looking for ways to earn quick money. They find them through friends or on social media. 'Many will go to festivals or parties while they are here, just like they are having a normal trip abroad. 'They are told that it is easy and they will not be caught. Then the amount the organisers can sell the cannabis for in the UK is much higher than it costs in Thailand. 'Police suspect that there are multiple employers and groups receiving the drugs on the other end. The cannabis then enters the UK market. 'We are being vigilant to ensure there are no routes out of the country.'
