Chesterfield man handed suspended prison sentence for selling cocaine and cannabis to pay off debts to drugs gang

Jordan Batteson had been involved in a cross border drugs operation, Derby Crown Court was told on Thursday, November 18.

The court heard that the 28-year-old, from the Newbold area of Chesterfield, was himself being threatened by other gang members.

Batteson and his family received threats and he continued to sell Class A and Class B drugs in smaller quantities in a bid to pay off the perceived debt.

Prosecuting, Sarah Slater told the court that Batteson had been stopped by police on October 2 last year and officers noticed a strong smell of cannabis in the car, and they discovered two bags of cannabis in the vehicle, which were also labelled with people’s names on them.

A total of £600 in cash was also found in the vehicle, and Batteson’s phone was seized, where messages revealed that he had been selling cannabis and cocaine between August and early October last year.

“It was clearly for onward sale based on the labelling and the packaging,” she said. “It’s clear from the messaged that he was involved in the sale of cannabis for a two-month period - first smaller amounts, then larger amounts.”

No mitigation was offered on Batteson’s behalf. He had initially denied the offences but had changed his plea to guilty around a month before his trial was due to start, the court heard.

Recorder Paul Mann sentenced Batteson to a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years and ordered him to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

Sentencing, he said: “If I sent you to prison today, you would be at risk of harm from others serving their sentences. You know as well as I do that if you re-offend and that leads to a custodial sentence, you will be in for a hell of a time of it, so perhaps a suspended sentence is the most suitable deterrent for you.”

Recorder Mann also ordered that the drugs and paraphernalia be forfeited and destroyed and the £600 found in the car to be retained under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

We have not published the defendant’s full address for his own safety.

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