Former electrician became ‘hopelessly addicted’ to Class A drugs – Wirral Globe

A FORMER electrician who became “hopelessly addicted” to Class A drugs and dealt illegal substances to fund his habit has been jailed.

Raymond Hamilton, 53, was sentenced to a prison term at Liverpool Crown Court in a case described by the judge as one which illustrates the “menace and evil of controlled drug misuse”.

The court heard how Hamilton, a grandfather, who had previously overcome drug addiction in the past, had become “lost in misuse of Class A drugs” following the death of his brother.

Hamilton, of Pensby Road, Thingwall, had pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply cannabis, possession with intent to supply cocaine and possession of diamorphine (heroin).

Prosecuting, Simran Garcha, told the court that police “conducted a Misuse of Drugs Act warrant” at Hamilton’s address on June 3, 2021 during which they found 19.3g of cocaine, nine wraps of diamorphine, and 39.4g of cannabis.

Ms Garcha added: “Also located within the property were a mobile phone, snap bags and scales”.

During interview, Hamilton told police they were “his belongings” and “that he was an addict, he was addicted to heroin and crack cocaine and recently had begun to use cannabis.

“He stated that he spent £100 a day on drugs” and “was unemployed and used benefit money to pay off his drug debts”.

Ms Garcha added: “His mobile phone was analysed” and contained “messages indicative of drug dealing, mostly related to cannabis, there was one message indicating cocaine supply.”

Nearly five months later, Hamilton was spotted on Pensby Road, at a bus stop by a plain clothes police officer supplying drugs. Ms Garcha said the officer saw Hamilton passing something on” and the other person ”passing something back”.

A search of Hamilton’s address uncovered items including “a crack pipe, bank card, driving licence, mobile phone and three grinders and scales”.

The defendant had again told police the items were for “personal use”.

Hamilton, the court was told, had four previous convictions for 11 offences, with his criminal activity occurring sporadically at different intervals in his life. His “one previous drug offence” conviction was in 1988, and he had other convictions from 2004 and 2015. These included for dishonesty, and ABH.

Defending, John Wheate, said Hamilton was “a grandfather” and “finds himself in this position because he has become hopelessly addicted to Class A drugs, primarily funding that through the selling of Class B drugs.

Liverpool Crown Court (Image: Stock)

He said Hamilton’s record “gives a story, which is perhaps the story of his life” and said, after his conviction for “misuse of cannabis” aged 19 he “moved an estate in Wirral that was well-known for the misuse of heroin, through peer pressure he became addicted to heroin for a time”,

Mr Wheate said his client then “qualified as an electrician” and “ran his own business”.

He said that Hamilton “fell completely and utterly into the misuse of Class A drugs” after the “death of his brother in 2016”.

He said, though the death, which was an “adult cot death” was not Hamilton’s fault that he “blamed himself” and that “it was his younger brother and they were particularly close”.

Mr Wheate said Hamilton had another breakdown after his “other brother” had “committed a serious offence on him”, in which he stabbed Hamilton, and his client “disappeared into a life of misuse of Class A drugs”.

Mr Wheate said Hamilton had noted that the prison sentence he would receive “might do him some good”.

Jailing the 53-year-old, Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said: “Yours is a case which is an indication of a close illustration of the menace and the evil of controlled drug misuse , it is clearly an Achilles Heel of yours” saying to Hamilton when “things run smoothly” you have “rid yourself of the dependence but when some trauma occurs you go back to it”.  

He was given two years and 11 months for the supply of cocaine in June 2021, and seven months consecutively for the possession of cannabis with intent to supply committed in October.

Hamilton was given a concurrent six-month term for the cannabis offence in June, and no separate penalties for the other drugs possession offences, making a total of three and a half years to be served.