A CANNABIS dealer who has been smoking the drug since he was 13 avoided an immediate jail sentence after it took more than a year to bring him to court.

Marcus Reynolds, from Newport, was told by a judge that had his case come before her earlier he would more than likely have been put behind bars.

Prosecutor Jason Howells told Cardiff Crown Court how the 22-year-old had been advertising cannabis by sending text messages on his mobile phone.

The defendant, of Maesglas Close, had boasted that he had: “Raw ammo, best about. Two for 15, four for 30. No one got them deals. Fat draw.”

That phone was recovered from plain-clothed police after the defendant had thrown it in a bush when they were patrolling the Maesglas and Duffryn areas of Newport.

READ MORE:

The officers were alerted to it after it started ringing, Mr Howells said.

Police also found Reynolds had 12 bags of cannabis with a combined weight of more than 15 grams, the drugs being worth £175.

The defendant pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis with intent to supply. The offence was committed on March 31, 2018.

Mr Howells explained that he had no explanation why the case had taken so long to get to court but added the Crown Prosecution Service were only consulted by the police for charging advice this year.

He said Reynolds has a previous conviction for breaching an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO).

In his pre-sentence report, the defendant told the Probation Service that he had used cannabis since the age of 13, left school at 14 and had no qualifications.

Reynolds, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke was told, had begun street dealing cannabis when his benefits had been stopped after being sanctioned for not complying with Job Centre rules.

The only money he earns is from carrying out chores for family members and that he is now “down to smoking one spliff a day before bed”.

Gareth Williams, mitigating, said his client had never had a job.

The judge told Reynolds that had his case come before her sooner, the likelihood for him would have been an immediate prison term.

But she told him he had “made a number of changes to your lifestyle” since his arrest and had stayed out of trouble.

The judge jailed him for nine months, suspended for 18 months.

He must also undertake a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement, complete 180 hours of unpaid work, pay £100 towards prosecution costs and a victim surcharge.