Man avoids jail after police discover drugs and bags of cash at Kingsthorpe home

David Shefford, aged 22, of Obelisk Rise, appeared at Northampton Crown Court on Thursday, October 20 after pleading guilty to possessing cannabis and MDMA (methylenedioxymethylamphetamine) with intent to supply them to others and possessing cocaine.

The court heard that police were conducting an area search of Moulton in relation to another offence on July 1, 2019 when officers saw Shefford walking in Pound Lane carrying a white JD sports bag and a computer screen.

Preetika Mathur, prosecuting, said police stopped to talk to Shefford and he put down the computer screen but, when they asked him for identification, the defendant ran away towards the Moulton Sports Complex and into the nearby wooded area.

The court heard that police pursued the defendant and were eventually able to arrest at the rear of a nearby property.

Shefford’s sports bag contained mobile phones, 14 bags of cannabis labelled “Cookie”, scales, lighters, unidentified white and brown powders and nine orange MDMA tablets, the court heard. A subsequent search of Shefford’s home address uncovered more phones, more cannabis, 13 zip lock bags with traces of drugs and four bags of £870 in cash.

A drug expert stated that the messages discovered on the analysed phones were consistent with the supply of drugs and predicted the overall value of the drugs in Shefford’s possession to be between £1,465 and £32,205.

The court heard that Shefford was interviewed the same day and he admitted to the possession of Class A and B drugs but said they were only for personal use and denied they were to supply to others.

Shefford has no previous convictions but was given a caution in 2015 for the possession of Class B drugs.

Richard Atkins, defending Shefford, asked the court for the defendant to get a suspended sentence or community order.

The court heard that references had been provided to the court from Shefford’s parents, pastor, girlfriend and current employer.

Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane said: “What is clear from those letters and the pre-sentence report is that you had a difficult time.

“You became lonely and fell in with the wrong crowd. You were using drugs yourself and you lost motivation and you were not motivated in relation to your studies.”

The court heard that Shefford now has full time employment, has secure accommodation with his partner and it is “clear” that there is a “low chance” of reoffending.

Judge Crane continued: “You have completely changed your life since your arrest and the court could not ask more of you.”

Shefford was sentenced to a 12 month community order for the possession of cannabis and MDMA with intent to supply and no separate penalty was issued for the possession of cocaine.

He must carry out 120 hours of unpaid work and an order was made for the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs; the cash seized will go to a local charity.

Judge Crane added: “You were lucky enough not to get a custodial sentence so do not squander the chance you have been given.”

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this email gave Shefford’s age as 21. The article has been amended to show Shefford’s age as 22.