Cocaine importer spared jail

Tuesday 15 January 2019

Despite importing cocaine on four separate occasions, Guernsey's Royal Court has decided not to jail a man because of his particular circumstances.

39-year-old David Stewart faced four counts when he appeared before the Deputy Bailiff and Jurats for sentencing yesterday.

Only the amount of cocaine which made up the fourth count could be presented as fact and that was just 0.44g of the Class A drug. Counts one to three were only presented to the court because Stewart had admitted them to Guernsey Police during interview, after some messages were recovered from one of two iPhones which had been confiscated from him. 

That coupled with his personal circumstances, which included the tragic loss of his mother when he was in his early teenage years, kept him out of prison.

Pictured: Some small bags were found in Stewart's flat and one was found to have traces of cocaine inside (file image). 

It was last summer when Stewart was caught, after his 'Uncle Phil' sent him a 'Congratulations on your divorce!' card, containing a small wrap of white powder which was found to be cocaine weighing 0.44g.

That card needed to be signed for so the postman left a 'while you were out' card asking him to go to Envoy House to collect it. Stewart did that, but the card had already been intercepted for a random check by Customs Officer.

When he was told it wasn't there, Stewart asked a customer service officer at Guernsey Post to try and trace it, and he followed that up with an email, a phone call and another visit to Envoy House.  That evening he was arrested at his home and his flat was searched.

Two iPhones were confiscated, along with some small resealable bags contenting traces of powder.

Stewart gave Guernsey Police the passcodes for the iPhones while he was being interviewed that night and the phones were checked, later revealing messages exchanged with someone called Josh, previously arranging for three similar packages to be sent to Guernsey, using greetings cards to hide the relatively small amounts of cocaine.

The Crown Advocate, Rory Calderwood, said they accepted the amounts were small and therefore only for personal use. In counts one to three, which happened between May and June 2018, Stewart paid £100 each time for the cocaine and less than £10 for postage each time. On the fourth occasion - when he was caught - he had paid £50 for the 0.44g to be sent plus just under £10 for packaging.

The court heard that based on Guernsey's street values for Cocaine, he had probably imported less than one gram of cocaine on each occasion, and it was agreed it was only for personal use.

Pictured: Customs Officers intercepted the parcel at Guernsey Post HQ during a random spot check. 

The use of the postal system was considered an aggravating factor in the case, but despite that Stewart left court without a prison sentence.

His Defence Lawyer, Peter Ferbrache, gave the court compelling evidence to show his remorse and shame for the crime committed, as he went over personal family details about Stewart's mother's death 25 years ago which a psychotherapist's report said had left him with PTSD.

Stewart's father has suffered ill health recently too, adding to the stress felt by his son, which was given as a reason why he tried to deal with pressures in his life through drugs. Mr Stewart senior gave evidence to the court during sentencing, as a character reference for his son.

Advocate Ferbrache urged the court to impose community service rather than a prison sentence on Stewart, saying:

"They're not offences Guernsey takes lightly, they're not offences the court will take lightly and they're not offences he's asking you to take lightly."

Advocate Ferbrache also spoke of Stewart's demeanour during the pre sentencing processes, saying he was 'terrified, ashamed, remourseful and apologetic'. He also described him as a "thoroughly decent man" who had suffered a "convergence of events" in 2018 which led to these offences being committed, including suffering trauma over the 25th anniversary of his mother's death and his father's ill health.

The Deputy Bailiff and the Jurats took a four and a half year prison sentence as their starting point - noting that each of the charges Stewart faced carried a life-prison sentence - but agreed that he was at a very low risk of reoffending and that he had pleaded guilty as early as possible and helped police with their enquiries by giving them the passcodes to his phones. 

Taking all of the mitigation into account, including the "particular basis of your personal circumstances" they decided against a prison sentence, but told him he'll have to live with the shame, while warning others that this sentence should not be seen as a soft option and that Stewart should not see it that way either.

For counts one, two and three he received two years in prison, suspended for three years, while for count four he was given 240 hours community which is a direct alternative to 18 months prison.

Both his iPhones were ordered to be destroyed along with the plastic bags which had been found in his flat. 

Pictured top: Guernsey's Royal Court found the use of the postal system to be a aggravating factor in the case.