Sheffield dad hauled before the court after police find cannabis stash worth over £1,700 during raid

A Sheffield man found with a stash of cannabis worth over £1,700 when police raided his home has been hauled before the court.
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Police officers executed a warrant on July 16, 2020 at an address in Southey Green where defendant Jamie Witham was staying with his grandmother, Sheffield Crown Court heard on April 14.

A search was carried out at the premises during which ‘many items’ were discovered, including 224.1 grams or eight ounces of cannabis in a rear bedroom of the property that was being used by Witham, said prosecuting barrister Neil Coxon.

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"The estimated value was said to be between £1,730 and £2,260,” added Mr Coxon.

Jamie Witham was sentenced for possession of cannabis with intent to supply during a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday, April 14, 2022Jamie Witham was sentenced for possession of cannabis with intent to supply during a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday, April 14, 2022
Jamie Witham was sentenced for possession of cannabis with intent to supply during a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday, April 14, 2022

He told the court that a police specialist estimated that it would have taken a ‘heavy user’ of cannabis seven months to get through the amount of cannabis found in Witham’s bedroom.

Following the police raid, Witham was arrested and interviewed, and admitted that the cannabis belonged to him.

He also told officers that an amount of cocaine, worth approximately £50, that was found at the property was his, but said he believed the substance to be amphetamines.

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Witham, of Sydney Road, Crookesmoor, subsequently pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of cannabis with intent to supply at an earlier hearing, using a basis of plea, which was accepted by the prosecution.

The basis of plea stated Witham, aged 32, was offered a ‘large quantity’ of cannabis, and bought it with the intention of ‘selling it to someone I know within the next few days’ for approximately £200.

It also said he was a ‘major user’ and was ‘struggling for money’ at the time of the offence.

Witham pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of cocaine during the hearing.

The court was told that Witham has a criminal record of seven previous convictions from 15 offences, three of which relate to drug possession.

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In mitigation, Matthew Burdon said there had been an extensive delay in the matter being brought to court, despite Witham’s early guilty plea, and he had not committed any additional offences in the intervening period.

He added that Witham has three young children who he looks after most weekends, and provides them with ‘emotional and financial’ support.

Judge Peter Kelson QC sentenced Witham to nine months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered him to complete a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Judge Kelson said Witham’s offending suggested he had not ‘learned his lesson’ from his previous convictions for drug possession, and it needed to be met with a custodial sentence; but he said he felt able to suspend it due to the fact Witham had not committed any further offences in the two years since.