A cocaine dealer refused to give police the PIN to his phone so officers simply held the device to his face and unlocked it using the facial recognition app, a court has heard. The messages found on 37-year-old Grant Lester’s mobile showed the extent of his dealing operation.
The defendant’s advocate told Swansea Crown Court his client was concerned about the impact of an immediate custodial sentence on his young daughter. But, sending the dad to prison the judge said he was "rather sceptical" about those protestations as the defendant would have known full-well what sentence awaited him when he embarked on his dealing enterprise.
Regan Walters, prosecuting, told the court that on May 23 last year a police officer in an unmarked car was in Mirador Crescent in the Uplands area of Swansea and was keeping watch on a stationary VW Golf. The court heard the car was seen to be parked for some time on the street with only a passenger sat inside. The prosecutor said the car was later followed around the Clase area and was driven in a way which suggested the driver knew they were being followed. The Golf was subsequently spotted in Glais where it was again parked up with just a passenger inside.
The prosecutor said police spoke to the passenger who directed them to a nearby house in Station Road. When officers knocked on the door and entered they found Lester sat in an armchair. On being searched the defendant was found to be in possession of 14 diazepam tablets, and when the chair was searched officers found grip-seal bags containing a total of 6.4g of high purity cocaine under the cushion.
The court heard the defendant was asked for the PIN to his phone but told officers he could not remember it so officers used the device’s facial recognition feature to open it. He later revealed the PIN because he wanted his partner to be told he had been arrested. In his subsequent interview the defendant answered "no comment" to most questions asked but told offices the diazepam they found was for his own use and was to treat his anxiety.
The prosecutor said messages on the seized phone showed Lester’s involvement with drug supply including references to "loading up" or restocking, to making deliveries, and requests from customers for "another half". In one of the texts from a contact there was a complaint about weighing scales containing white powder being left out of view of children. Another message suggested swapping a deal of cocaine for "2 boxes" of an unnamed drug.
Grant Lester, of Llwynon, Clydach, Swansea Valley, had previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to supply, and the simple possession of a Class C drug when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has 11 previous convictions for 22 offences including the production of cannabis and possession of cannabis with intent to supply from 2010 for which he was handed a suspended prison sentence.
John Allchurch, for Lester, said the defendant had told the author of the pre-sentence report that he had become involved in the supply of cocaine after "seeking solace" in the drug as a way of coping with his "significant mental health issues" and that as his use of cocaine and cannabis increased he turned to dealing to fund them. The advocate said Lester was concerned about the impact the custodial sentence he was facing would have on his nine-year-old daughter, and was concerned that he would "not be around for her".
Judge Paul Thomas KC said he had read references submitted to the court which showed Lester was well-respected but said he wondered if those people who had taken the time to write them knew about his drug dealing activities. With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas Lester was sentenced to three years and two months in prison. He will serve up to half that sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
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