Latest news with #LeeThomas
South Wales Argus
3 days ago
- South Wales Argus
Newport drug dealer jailed for 9 years after police chase
Lee Thomas was pursued from Malpas Road in Newport before his Mercedes CLA ended up on its side on a country lane in Cwmbran. The 32-year-old was being chased after police were tipped off the disqualified driver was travelling in a vehicle which had cloned plates. Nuhu Gobir, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court that Thomas fled after the crash on May 22 but was soon found and arrested. The defendant was found with multiple wraps of heroin and crack cocaine as well as £465 cash. He was also being sentenced for trafficking offences committed in 2022. These related to the arrest of another drug dealer on Milland Road in Neath. He was arrested carrying dozens of wraps of heroin and crack cocaine. Thomas was linked to him by messages detectives found on a mobile phone and his DNA was found on the packages of class A drug. Judge Jeremy Jenkins described the CPS' handling of this case as 'lamentable' after it took two years to charge him. Thomas, of Tees Close, Bettws, Newport admitted being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, possession with intent to supply class A drugs, dangerous driving and driving while disqualified. These were his third and fourth convictions for trafficking class A drugs. He was locked up in 40 months in 2017 and 35 months in 2020. The defendant has 16 previous convictions for 32 offences. His barrister Ross McQuillan-Johnson asked that his client be given the appropriate credit for his guilty pleas. He also asked that the lengthy delay in bringing the Neath matter to court be taken into account. Mr McQuillan-Johnson added that the majority of the defendant's crimes stemmed from his 'heavy reliance on drugs'. Judge Jenkins told Thomas: 'You have an appalling record of previous convictions. 'You are no stranger to a prison cell.' The defendant was jailed for five years and seven years for the Newport offences and a consecutive prison term of three years and seven years for the Neath matters. That made a total custodial sentence of nine years and two months. He was banned from driving for three years following his release and will have to sit an extended retest. Thomas is also set to face a proceeds of crime hearing.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Man rolls Mercedes in 80mph chase then lands in bigger trouble
A serial dealer of Class A drugs led police on an 80mph chase through "very built-up" areas before crashing and abandoning his Mercedes. When police caught up to Lee Thomas on foot they found he was carrying dozens of wraps of crack cocaine and heroin. Cardiff Crown Court heard the 32-year-old, from Bettws in Newport, has an "unenviable" record which includes being sentenced four times for dealing drugs. On Friday he appeared in the dock to face justice for crimes from 2022 and from May this year. The 2022 offences involved drug-dealing in the Neath and Swansea areas. His role in the operation was discovered after police detained an associate, Christian Richardson, and found in his pocket 56 cling-film packages of heroin and crack which were then linked to Thomas by DNA. READ MORE: Shoppers hit as city centre car park shuts suddenly READ MORE: The Welsh market town that 'used to be brilliant' but traders say has been ruined by the perfect storm At around 10.15am on May 22 this year, Thomas — on bail for the drug-dealing — was driving along Malpas Road, Newport, in a Mercedes-Benz CLA with cloned number plates. After cameras detected the dodgy plates, a roads policing officer attempted to pull him over but Thomas sped away. "Road conditions were not suitable for high-speed travel due to the poor road surface," said prosecutor Nuhu Gobir. The officer followed for a number of minutes, eventually losing sight of Thomas, but soon came across the Mercedes crashed on its side in Pentre Lane, near Cwmbran. After a foot pursuit, Thomas was detained and caught with 20 wraps of crack and "numerous" wraps of heroin in his pocket, as well as £465 in cash, Mr Gobir told the court. Judge Jeremy Jenkins told Thomas: "You drove well in excess of the speed limit, up to 80mph, in very built-up areas where traffic was moderate to say the very least." Thomas pleaded guilty to possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of Class As, dangerous driving and driving while disqualified. The defendant, of Tees Close in Bettws, had some 32 previous offences on his record including dealing heroin, crack and cannabis, and flouting a driving ban. His barrister Ross McQuillan-Johnson argued the 2022 offences should have been progressed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) much earlier. "The CPS had sufficient evidence to charge him in 2022 but it took two years to charge him by postal requisition," said Mr McQuillan-Johnson. "He has an unenviable record but he tells me in no uncertain terms that the offending can be directly linked to his heavy reliance on substances. He doesn't seek to rely on that as an excuse. He is working closely with Dyfodol [substance misuse specialists] to deal with his drug and alcohol dependency." Judge Jenkins said the two-year delay between arrest and postal requisition was "lamentable, unconscionable and inexplicable", adding: "I question what more the CPS could have had, in terms of evidence." The judge took this into account in passing a prison sentence of nine years and two months, and a driving ban of seven years and seven months. As a security guard led him to the cells Thomas aimed a look at family members who sat in the public gallery, shaking his head with a disbelieving smile.
