Dealer selling fake cocaine on his bike in Leeds city centre avoids jail
He was selling cutting agent as cocaine
A dealer selling caffeine disguised as cocaine has been spared prison after convincing a judge he has turned his life around.
Jordan Benison even tried to spit and bite officers who arrested him, then attacked officers again months later after he was caught shoplifting.
He was given a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court this week.
Officers had been patrolling Leeds city centre on April 8, 2023, and spotted Benison and another males on bikes around the Hirst Yard area.
Suspecting they were dealing, they moved in to stop them but Benison attempted to ride off.
He was knocked from his bike by one officer and he then ran off along Call Lane, before being apprehended. Struggling, he made threats to rape an officer.
The 29-year-old was kicking out, trying to spit and bite so a hood was placed over his head. He then lunged at another officers, headbutting them to the nose.
He was found to have three bags of cannabis and six bags of “bash”, referring to cutting agents used to dilute drugs and maximise profits, prosecutor Daniel Ingham told the court.
It was mainly caffeine with traces of cocaine. It would have been worth up to £220 had it been street-level cocaine.
During a police interview he said the cannabis was for personal use but said the other items were not his.
Then on December 20, 2024, he twice tried to steal packs of beer from Sainsbury’s on Brudenell Road and attacked the PCSOs called to apprehend him.
He hit one with a can of lager and punched another four times in the chest and stomach.
Benison, of no fixed address, admitted dealing Class A drugs, possession of a Class B drug, two shop thefts and three assaults on emergency workers.
He has four convictions for nine offences, including robbery.
Mitigating, Stephen Smithson said he had since stopped drinking and taking drugs. He said: “He is doing the best he can, he has a long way to go.
“He has worked to get himself straight. There is a determination to face the music.”
The judge, Recorder Robert Ward, gave him a 32-month sentence, suspended for two years, with 200 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation days.
He cited Benison’s progress as the reason for not sending him directly into custody but warned him: “You have been given a chance, do not blow it.”