A CASH-STRAPPED teenager turned to dealing drugs after he was kicked out of his house and didn’t want to “disappoint” his girlfriend.
Archie Faulkner was just 18 years old when he started living out of his car following a family tragedy and a falling out with his father in 2019.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard Faulkner, now 22, was stopped by the police in Wellesley Road, Clacton, in August 2019 and found to be in possession of two mobile phones and £349 cash.
He later revealed to officers he was in possession of 3.16g of cocaine worth £350 when threatened with a strip search at Colchester Police Station.
“You turned to selling drugs as an easy way of making money,” said Recorder Gabrielle Posner on Tuesday.
“I think you learnt the consequences of that pretty quickly.”
Read more: Colchester family say they have 'nothing left' after close-call escape from horror house fire
Daniel Jones, prosecuting, said messages recovered from the second device, a Nokia “burner” phone, included drugs-related messages “you got a runner?” and “you about mate?”.
Mr Jones said Faulkner, a railway worker, was “acting as a one-man band” and he was dealing on a small scale to people he knew.
Faulkner, of Carnarvon Road, Clacton, admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply it.
His barrister, Evelyn Hicks, told the court the 22-year-old has owned up for his offence and conceded “nobody forced him into it”.
For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our court and crime newsletter here.
She said: “At the time of the offence he had fallen out with his father and was living in his car.
“He had a girlfriend at the time and did not want to disappoint her.
“His father blames himself because he simply could not cope with the loss of his wife.
“His dad has since dragged him round to show him what drugs can do to people.
"This is a 22-year-old who has learnt his lesson.”
Mrs Posner suspended an 18-month prison sentence for 18 months and ordered him to forfeit the £349.
Faulkner must also undertake 100 hours of unpaid work.
The recorder said: “I don’t want to see you again as I don’t think you are the type of person who should be before these courts.”
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 The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel