A COVENTRY man has been jailed for producing cannabis worth £26,000 and witness intimidation – after a judge called his bluff.
Ryan Jones claimed in court he had sent the witness a message apologising for threatening the young woman who had made a complaint about his brother.
But the judge called his bluff and, after an adjournment for that to be checked, it was found that no apology had been sent by Ryan Jones, who was on bail for growing cannabis at the time.
Jones (25) of Ellerman Gardens, Longford, Coventry, was jailed for two years at Warwick Crown Court after pleading guilty to producing the cannabis (a six month sentence) and the witness intimidation ( a consecutive 18-month sentence).
Prosecutor Richard Whitcombe said that in August last year the police raided an address in Longford Road, Coventry, where Jones was registered as living.
They found 36 mature cannabis plants in the front bedroom, which was equipped with growing lights, transformers, an extractor fan and filters.
In a second room, similarly equipped, there were 20 young plants, while a third room had empty pots and evidence of cannabis plants.
The electricity meter had been by-passed to power the equipment, using £889 worth of energy, and the estimated yield of the plants would have been worth at least £26,000.
When he was arrested, Jones denied having anything to do with the cannabis, claiming he had left the address in October 2015 after falling out with the landlord.
Mr Whitcombe said that in April this year, Jones phoned the young woman who hung up, so he sent her a series of abusive text messages.
The expletive-littered messages accused her of lying, telling her to ‘stop chatting sh*t,’ and telling her bluntly: “Drop the allegations.”
When he was arrested, Jones accepted the exchanges, but denied they were intimidating or intended to be so.
After the claim he had later apologised, the case was adjourned for his phone to be checked, as it was being held by the police.
And Mr Whitcombe pointed out: “There is no apology. There is a softer-toned approach, but the apology is simply not there.”
Jones’s barrister said that although there was ‘no apology per se,’ Jones had told the woman ‘I don’t want to be horrible, I just want to talk,’ and had ended by saying he would not call her again.
“With regard to the cannabis, he says he was forced into it and didn’t want to do it.”
Recorder Martin Butterworth observed he had made no such claim in his police interview or his plea.
Recorder Butterworth told him: “The production of cannabis was a significant commercial operation. The yield was substantial, and there was professional equipment installed.
“You were on bail for that offence when this year you committed an offence which is significantly more serious, in my judgement, because it strikes so hard at the proper administration of justice.
“While it may have been impulsive at the start, it was a series of acts by you.
“You then sought to suggest you had apologised in subsequent text messages – but in my view that was a bluff, and your bluff was called and what was discovered were further text messages which were not so intimidatory, but there was no apology.
“It was a determination to intimidate this girl.”
