Dealer in £2,000 debt caught after police spot him on Leeds street with known addicts
A 56-year-old drug dealer has been jailed after PCSOs caught him with two known addicts on the street.
Andrew Turnbull had £900 worth of crack and heroin on him when he was stopped and searched in Beeston.
The ageing dealer was jailed for more than two years at Leeds Crown Court this week.
Two patrolling PCSOs were talking to members of the public when they spotted the two drug users outside a convenience store at around 9am on October 12.
They then met with Turnbull on Stratford Street and began walking towards Dewsbury Road. The officers then flagged down passing firearms officers who stopped Turnbull.
He handed over a clear bag containing powder, then pulled another from his sleeve containing further drugs. In total, there were 61 wraps of crack cocaine worth £610, and 29 wraps of heroin worth £290.
They also found two mobiles phones on him, one of which had clear messages advertising drugs for sale.
During his police interview he admitted selling the drugs, saying he was accused of stealing drugs from a couple and had been left with a £2,000 debt.
Turnbull, of Longroyd Avenue, Beeston, has 10 previous convictions for 19 offences, including being concerned in the supply of cannabis from 2011.
He admitted two counts of dealing in Class A drugs for his latest offending.
Mitigating, Graham O’Sullivan said there had been a “significant” gap - 14 years- since his last offence.
He said that Turnbull himself was addicted to drugs and that his time spent on remand at HMP Leeds had helped him get clean.
Judge Simon Phillips KC jailed Turnbull for 28 months.