Jailed for dealing at local football club

Thursday 09 January 2020

Two young men have been sent to prison after being caught dealing MDMA at a Guernsey football club.

Darian Perkins, 21, and Jack Welsh, 20, faced a number of charges in the Royal Court this week, including possession of the Class A drug with intent to supply.

The pair were caught by Guernsey Police in November 2018, when officers noticed Perkins acting suspiciously outside a private function at the club. When he saw the officers approaching him he quickly headed out of view behind the building before reappearing.

The officers searched him but found nothing. He claimed he was in the area to use the toilet, but the officers checked and found they were locked.

They returned to the area later on with a dog, who sniffed out two small packages under a hedge and behind some chairs. The bags contained a total of 31 capsules of MDMA powder. Although it had been raining, the packages were dry suggesting they had been put there relatively recently.

Pictured: The pair were sentenced by the Royal Court.

Perkins was arrested and taken to the police station for questioning. He willingly gave officers the pin code for his phone, where they found WhatsApp messages between himself and Welsh about buying and selling the drugs. Although police had only found 31 capsules, the messages referred to 40 - nine of which had already been sold at the private function.

Welsh was subsequently arrested in March last year and his home was searched. Officers found a total of 1.88g of cannabis and cannabis resin in the defendant's car and bedroom, which he admitted was for personal use.

At first, Welsh claimed he had never seen the seized MDMA capsules before but later said he had taken the opportunity to make some extra cash.

Welsh had organised the purchase of the drugs while Perkins had been sent out to sell them.

Pictured: Jack Welsh. 

The defendants were released on unconditional bail, but Welsh was brought to police attention once again when it was discovered that he had been fraudulently stealing from his employer.

On multiple occasions last summer, while the defendant was working at Norman Piette, he had authorised refunds to a card he had access to, reaching a total of £124. Welsh was arrested again in June, following an internal investigation.

Pictured: Both defendants will spend time in custody.

Meanwhile, Perkins appeared in the Magistrate's Court where he pleaded guilty to an unrelated assault charge for an incident that took place in December 2018. He was released on conditional bail for the offence, but has been remanded in custody since 19 September 2019 after breaching one of his conditions.

In Perkins' mitigation, Advocate Sam Steel said the defendant had been looking for quick cash to use as a deposit for a local lodging house.

"He is an intelligent young man with big potential to make something of his life on release," Advocate Steel added.

Pictured: Darian Perkins. 

Welsh's defence advocate, Liam Roffey, explained how 2018 had been a "challenging year" for his client, who had become "isolated". He had joined the local football club to socialise but, as a result, had fallen into contact with people who "normalised" the use of controlled drugs.

Advocate Roffey asked Judge Russell Finch and the nine Jurats to consider Welsh's age and his "degree of immaturity and naivety" when deliberating.

Welsh -  who faced a total of nine counts, including the joint MDMA charge, possession of a Class B drug and stealing from his employer - was sentenced to three years in custody. As he is still under 21-years-old, he has been sent to youth detention. He will also have to pay £124 back to Norman Piette.

Perkins - who was only sentenced for the joint MDMA count in the Royal Court - was given three years and nine months in prison, dating back to 19 September when he was remanded in custody.

Following the sentencing by the Royal Court, Judge Finch returned as a Judge of the Magistrate's Court to decide on the outcome of Perkins' assault count. He was sentenced to a further three months in prison and was ordered to pay £105 in compensation for hospital bills.