A DRUG dealer has been jailed after being caught dealing heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis in Oxford.
Layton Allen, of Nye Bevan Close, Oxford, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Friday (July 19) to two counts of possession with intent to supply a Class A drug, heroin and crack cocaine, and one count of possession of a Class B drug, cannabis.
The 22-year-old was caught in Oxford on May 15 this year selling drugs in an ‘Oxford drug hotspot’, as dubbed by police.
READ MORE: Individuals 'fled' car crash which hospitalised driver, police say
Judge Maria Lamb sentenced him to 30 months imprisonment.
During the sentencing on Friday, prosecutor Kathy Oliver explained that two police officers were in a ‘drug hotspot’.
She said: “A number of drug users were being drawn to a certain area of the park and they knew it was drug dealing.
“They could see the drug users were going and coming from there and at the centre of the activity was Layton Allen.
“He was detained. He told police he didn’t have anything on him but they found 80 wraps of Class A drugs and £1,000 in cash.”
The court that his home address was also searched by police who found a further three wraps of drugs, a grinder, and about £2,000 in cash.
READ MORE: Sentencing of drug dealer delayed in court
He told police: “Just charge me and take me to court.”
The offences also put Allen in breach of a suspended sentence he was handed at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on November 13 last year for dangerous driving.
He was handed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
Defending Allen, his barrister said that his client was ‘brought into’ the offending by people who were older them him.
“He was groomed,” he said. “It’s probably not the best word for it in the world. He came across, having been away a bit from the area, came across the same people again and it was a debt that he owned which gives contact about how he got back into it.”
He added that his family had been ‘steadfast’ and had come to support him in court, including his mother, sister and girlfriend.
The defence barrister added: “He was perfectly polite and courteous but there may be an element of naivety.”
READ MORE: Man, 90, dies after falling while crossing the road
Judge Lamb handed Allen 27 months imprisonment for the drug offences and an additional three months for the breach of the suspended sentence.
She decided not to active the entire six-month sentence due to Allen having completed some of his unpaid work.
He will serve half of his sentence before being released on licence.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here