Man called police to his house, where 13 cannabis plants were growing

Sunday 27 May 2018

After pleading guilty to cultivating cannabis plants and failing to surrender to court, a man has been given 21 months in prison by Guernsey's Royal Court.

Clint Ridley, 33, was arrested after he called Guernsey Police to his house because of concerns over his partner's welfare.

Upon arriving at the house, officers said they could immediately smell cannabis, and then upon further inspection, found a black tent in the bedroom with 13 cannabis plants inside. 

There was also a range of lighting in the tent and a pipe that attached it to the chimney.

After inspection of the plants, the States' analyst found in total, the flower tops - which have the highest THC content, and thus would be the most valuable - came to 38g, which was valued at between £760 and £1,140.

Despite the amount, the prosecution accepted it was only for personal use, a fact which Judge Russell Finch said had made Ridley's sentence a lot lighter.

Ridley had previously been convicting for importing drugs, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison in 2012. He also has a number of convictions for possession.

His conviction for not attending court came after he did not appear at a session during his trial and sentencing. He was later arrested in Poole where Guernsey Police traveled to find and arrest him - he has been held in custody since. 

In his defence, his advocate said Ridley did intend to attend court, but only when he felt his partner was fit to "say good bye to him." More details relating to his partner were deemed not appropriate to be shared with the court.

Judge Finch said Ridley did not learn from his mistakes of previously being involved with drugs, though it was acknowledged this was a lesser crime.

"A non-custodial sentence would wholly fail to meet the seriousness of this crime," he said.