He is a rich kid,so some poor bastard has got to get the blame.As they live in fantasy land & wouldn`t know the real world!!
- Judge slams liberals for claiming cannabis is harmless
Published date:
30 November 2015 |
Published by:
Staff reporter
A CHESTER judge has slammed “liberals” and some media for
implying cannabis is a harmless drug, dismissing their claims as
“nonsense”.
Raj Shetty spoke out as he sentenced a young man who had bullied his parents into handing over £42,000 to fund his addiction.
Chester Crown Court heard that Samuel Thomas Richards, 23, had enjoyed
a “fantastic” upbringing, went to a private school and had been tipped
to compete in the triathlon event in the 2012 Olympics.
But he developed a serious addiction to the class B drug over six or
seven years and resorted to demanding money from his heart-broken
parents, Ian and Elizabeth, with abusive and threatening text messages.
The judge said the case was particularly sad,and stressed that
cannabis was a harmful drug capable of “sucking away ambition and
aspirations”.
He told the court: “It has been impressed upon us by liberals and in the press that cannabis is a so-called harmless drug.
“But over the years I have seen many cases where it has created massive problems.”
In a victim impact statement, read to the court, Richards’ father said
he was proud of his son and all his achievements, which included a
black belt in jujitsu and qualification for the Team GB triathlon team.
He wrote: “If he wants to, he can have a successful, healthy and happy future ahead, which is what I want for him.
“I will never stop loving him, but I realise that I am powerless to his addiction.”
Richards, formerly from the Ellesmere Port area but now of Meadowfield
Close, Rock Ferry, Wirral, pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment
and was sentenced to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years.
He will undertake a drug rehabilitation programme and was also made
the subject of a restraining order, banning him from contacting his
parents for a period of five years.
Matthew Dunford, prosecuting, told the court Richards had harassed his
parents for money continually between September 1, 2014 and August 16
this year.
One day he called his mother 77 times in four hours, and in a 10-day
period in August he sent 144 text messages to her demanding cash.
Richards’ father often had to work away from home, leaving his mother
feeling vulnerable, and on one occasion a drug dealer with a knife had
turned up on her doorstep looking for a drugs debt to be paid.
Mr Dunford said Richards would send abusive texts to his father when
he knew he was away on business, saying things like “I’m coming to
mum’s. I’m going to smash everything up” and “Give me the £240 now or I
will smash up everything you own.”
Peter Barnett, defending said Richards had been in custody since
August 17 and prison had been a “sobering experience” for a man with no
previous convictions.
He had shown genuine remorse, apologised to his parents and was committed to tackling his drug addiction, Mr Barnett said.
Besides his suspended prison sentence and drug rehabilitation
requirement, Richards was also given a curfew order and must carry out
250 hours’ unpaid work in the community.
“This really is last chance saloon,” the judge told him.
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