Man caught with cannabis avoids jail
A man who took a handbag stolen from a car in Telford and changed 800 euros inside to pounds to keep for himself has avoided jail despite offending after getting a suspended sentence.
Aiden Adams, 25, was caught with three bags of cannabis at Stafford North service station by police on routine patrol on March 28 this year. It comes after he was convicted in July last year of handling stolen goods when 870 euros and £50 cash were taken from an Audi Q7 in Telford.
He was given a four-month jail term, suspended for 12 months on July 6, 2018, meaning if he committed any other offence before July 6 this year, he would run the risk of being sent straight to prison to serve his time.
Adams, of Marston Road, Stafford, pleaded guilty to possession of a Class B drug at Shrewsbury Crown Court, and his defence agent Omar Majid said: "It was £20 worth of cannabis and he handed it straight to the police. It is very much on the low end of the offending spectrum."
Judge Anthony Lowe gave him a final warning. He said: "I'm sure you would have been told that if you commit any offence during the operational period of your suspended sentence, you would be likely to serve the suspended sentence itself. But there has to be some sort of propotionality." He extended the suspension period of his four-month sentence to January 2020, meaning if he offends between now and then he will likely be jailed. He was also ordered to pay an £80 fine and £135 court costs.
In the handling stolen goods case, Adams was identified when the owners of the car posted private CCTV footage on Facebook, asking if people knew who the culprits were. Adams’ name was put forward, and further investigation found Adams had used his own name to exchange the euros at a shop in Telford.
He committed that offence while serving a suspended sentence for burglary.
