Sheffield drug user caught with heroin is spared jail

Sheffield Crown Court heard on December 22 how Bopembe Nyalopeke, aged 48, of Sedan Street, Pitsmoor, Sheffield, was seen by police with another male on Jamaica Street, Pitsmoor, before he fled and was chased and caught by officers.

Aaron Dinnes, prosecuting, said Nyalopeke was seen to throw something over a fence which turned out to be wraps of heroin valued at £160.

Judge Peter Kelson QC, who gave Nyalopeke a suspended prison sentence, told him: “You will understand that if you commit another crime and you do any more drug dealing for anybody you will come back to court and you will start with this prison sentence and anything else will be on top.”

Jobless Nyalopeke claimed he had found someone to buy drugs from and he had agreed to sell the heroin as a form of payment.

The defendant, who has previous convictions, pleaded guilty to possessing the Class A drug heroin with intent to supply after the incident on October 23, 2020.

Kevin Jones, defending, said Nyalopeke is a drug user but he has significantly reduced his drug use and there is nothing to suggest he had been involved in dealing for any length of time.

Mr Jones added: “He is not someone who is regularly breaching court orders or regularly in contact with the authorities and there is every reason to suspect he will utilise any court orders to his benefit.”

Judge Kelson sentenced Nyalopeke to two years of custody suspended for two years with a drug rehabilitation requirement, a rehabilitation requirement and a three-month curfew.

He told Nyalopeke: “What you have here is the court trying to help you with your problems – which for society is for the greater good – but what you also have is this two year prison sentence hanging over your head.”

Judge Kelson also ordered that Nyalopeke will have to come to court on a monthly basis as part of his sentence to see what progress he is making with his drug rehabilitation requirement.