Wakefield drug dealer said replica airsoft gun found in BMW glovebox was 'confiscated' from his daughter
A ageing drug dealer caught with a fake gun in a car later told police he had “confiscated” the weapon from his daughter.
Gary Carter was found guilty after a trial of dealing in crack cocaine, being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and possession of an imitation airsoft firearm.
The 63-year-old was spared immediate custody at Leeds Crown Court this week, but only because of his responsibilities to his two children.
The court heard that a BMW was stopped by police on Park Lodge Lane in the Eastmoor area of Wakefield late evening on March 26 last year. Richardson was the passenger, prosecutor Chloe Pinches said.
The officers spotted a bag of crack cocaine in the centre console so they conducted a search. They found the airsoft pistol in the glovebox. A further eight wraps of crack cocaine were later found concealed in a sandwich box by a sniffer dog.
A mobile phone confiscated from Carter also showed text messages between December 2021 and March 2022 consistent with drug dealing.
Carter, of Garforth Drive, Normanton, gave a no-comment interview to police. He later claimed he knew nothing of the drugs but was found guilty of the offences after his trial in September.
He claimed to a probation officer that he had been with his friend to buy crack cocaine, which he was using because he was going through a bad time having been the victim of an assault. He has 18 previous convictions dated between 1977 and 2022.
Mitigating, Marc Luxford said Carter was struggling with a crack cocaine addiction and that he was a “proud” father of two teenagers. But Judge Mushtaq Khokhar replied: “What kind of example is he setting if he was taking crack cocaine?”
Mr Luxford said Carter was no longer taking drugs or drinking.
Judge Khokhar said that was still “no remorse” from Carter and said he “thoroughly merited to go to prison”. However, he said that the the only issue stopping him from going into custody was his duty to his children.
He gave him a 24-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, along with 20 rehabilitation days with probation.
The driver of the car is expected to be sentenced later this week.