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03
Mar 2023
'If you swim with sharks, you get bitten,' judge tells Harrogate cocaine dealer
A Harrogate drug pusher has been jailed for over two years after police caught him with over 50 grammes of high-purity cocaine.
Robert Marsh, 27, was stopped by a plain-clothed officer near his home on Burley Bank Road, Killinghall, in March last year.
The officer found just over two ounces of cocaine inside Marsh’s car, prosecutor Adam Walker told York Crown Court.
Marsh was arrested and a subsequent search of his home revealed a cornucopia of drug items including weighing scales and dealer bags, the court heard.
Police also found cocaine inside a Tupperware box and £90 cash inside a cupboard, added Mr Walker.
He said the 55g of cocaine found inside the vehicle had a street value of up to £5,550. The value of the drugs and the period of time that Marsh had been dealing suggested he stood to make “significant” profits.
Police also seized two mobile phones from Marsh, which showed he had played an “operational or managerial” role in the drug racket. He had been giving people drugs “on tick” and was “managing a customer’s debt”.
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Defence barrister Susannah Proctor said Marsh, of Pinemoor Caravan Park, had never been in trouble before and was easily led due to his vulnerabilities.
She said Marsh “struggles intellectually” and found himself hanging around people he met at house parties who had persuaded or coerced him to deal drugs for them, although the prosecution didn’t accept this claim.
Gambling debt
Ms Proctor added Marsh had a £7,000 gambling debt at the time and sold drugs to try to pay that off. He had struggled to pay his rent due to his gambling and moved into a caravan owned by his parents.
She added:
Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, told Marsh:
He said Marsh was “not the most robust of characters” and now found himself in a “nightmare” of his own making.
Mr Morris added:
He said Marsh “had to go to prison because Class A dealers must go down, otherwise people might be tempted to earn a little extra cash like you”.
Marsh was handed a 30-month jail sentence of which he will serve half behind bars before being released on prison licence.
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