A drug dealer who was caught twice by police in four days has been jailed for three years by a judge at Lewes Crown Court.
Olsjan Titini, 19, denied selling cocaine but was convicted by a jury of drug dealing, money laundering, having a knife in public and an imitation firearm.
During the three-day trial, the Albanian teenager said that he was coerced into selling drugs and had been exploited by others.
He was caught with cocaine and about £2,600 cash as well as a Stanley knife and a cigarette lighter designed to look like a revolver.
The jury was told that Titini, who was 18 when he was arrested, was first spotted in a black Smart Fortwo Pulse in Lascelles Terrace, Eastbourne, in the early hours of Wednesday 18 October.
Police spotted him again just four days later in the early hours of Sunday 22 October in a red Renault Modus Privilege in Beachy Head Road.
In court, he admitted having no driving licence or insurance.
Natasha Lake, prosecuting, said that he had no previous convictions in this country as she set out the sentencing guidelines for each of the offences.
Jay Shah, defending, said: “He was under the direction of others. This defendant has been coerced into dealing drugs.
“His involvement has been through naivety and immaturity and there is a degree of exploitation.”
The judge, Recorder Geraint Jones, said: “The evil of peddling drugs is that it harms and sometimes destroys other people’s lives.
“It has a pernicious effect on society and is often the driver for other criminal behaviour as those who want to obtain such drugs sometimes commit crimes so as to obtain money with which to purchase supplies of drugs.
“It might be that at your age – 19 years – you don’t fully appreciate the devastating effect that such drugs can have upon their users or the adverse consequences for society as a whole.”
Mr Recorder Jones said that he would reduce Titini’s sentence slightly on account of his age and immaturity and his lack of a criminal record.
But he said: “The offences on Sunday 22 October were committed while you were on bail.
“And when you were found on Wednesday 18 October, you were in possession of an imitation firearm which quite plainly you had with you as part of the apparatus for use while dealing drugs.”
Mr Recorder Jones sentenced Titini to 18 months’ youth custody for drug dealing on both occasions, to be served consecutively, making three years in total.
He was jailed for a month each, to be served concurrently, or at the same time, for having criminal property – the cash – as well as the knife and fake gun.
There was no separate penalty for the driving offences other than to endorse any licence obtained by Titini, of Heatherbank Close, Crayford, Dartford.
The judge ordered that the drugs should be forfeit and destroyed along with Titini’s scales, the bicarbonate of soda that he used as a packing agent and his other drug dealing equipment.
The cash would be forfeit and the knife and gun would also be kept by the police and destroyed.
At the sentencing hearing on Friday (16 August), the court was told that Titini had served 10 months on remand, while awaiting his trial which started last Tuesday.
He is likely to be due for release in about eight months’ time, next April, when he should also be considered for deportation.
He was not convicted of having the knife. Probably good to get the facts right if you’re going to report on someone.