Jake Duffy took selfies on the same device which he used to source and supply thousands of pounds of cannabis
Jake Duffy(Image: Merseyside police)
Police uncovered incriminating evidence after finding a drug dealer’s phone in a gutter. Jake Duffy took selfies on the same device which he used to source and supply thousands of pounds of cannabis.
Officers made the unexpected discovery after being called to reports of an assault. However, he was spared prison today following a delay of more than two years in bringing the case to court.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Friday, that police attended an address on Highfield Road in Rock Ferry on December 23 2022 following an incident which would later see Duffy, of Dudleston Road in Ellesmere Port, jailed for two years for wounding with intent. While at the scene, officers recovered a black iPhone from the gutter of a neighbouring property which was attributed to the 24-year-old via selfies and linked social media accounts.
Stella Hayden, prosecuting, described how it was also found to contain a series of messages exposing his involvement in the supply of cannabis between December 7 and 20 that year. These included texts sourcing quantities of the class B drug for onward sale and advertising his wares to customers, as well as “tick lists” indicating amounts of up to £2,000 being owed and “references to wages owed to others”.
Pictures of large amounts of cash were also recovered from the device. Duffy subsequently made no comment to detectives upon attending a voluntary interview in November 2023.
Ms Hayden added: “I concede that there has been a significant delay. I am unable to advance any reasonable explanation. Any delay is not down to the defendant, but perhaps due to a lack of expedience.”
Duffy has three previous convictions for five offences, also being handed a suspended prison sentence in July last year for matters of theft and handling stolen goods from December 2022. Nicola Daley, defending, told the court: “The defendant is still only 24 years of age but in the last two years plus he has made significant progress, at least since serving the sentence of imprisonment.
“He has moved out of the area. He has cooperated with probation. He tells me he has now only got 28 hours left on his unpaid work. He really appears to be, finally, seeming to grow up.
“He has sought employment. He is not yet earning for that employment. He is doing it on a voluntary basis with somebody who he knows who works in a construction agency. He is a joiner by trade.
“He has used the time he has spent in prison well, in that he has obtained qualifications. He is now somebody who has a partner and is staying away from trouble.
“Although this offending normally would pass the custody threshold, he is somebody who has made a lot of progress. I ask your honour whether there can be an alternative to a suspended sentence order and if the court can impose a community order. If not, there is such a realistic prospect of rehabilitation that he need not be sentenced to immediate imprisonment.
“He lives with his partner. His partner is a few years older than him and works in the hairdressing business. His family remain supportive of him. They have buried his mother’s father this week.”
Duffy admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis. Appearing in the dock wearing a grey Montirex tracksuit, he was handed a nine-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months with 180 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 10 days.
Sentencing, Judge Robert Trevor Jones said: “Since this offence, the two-and-a-half years which have elapsed have seemed to have a significant change on your life. You have served that two-year sentence.
“You have also moved out of the area. You have now stopped the associations you had in the criminal community which, from all I have read in this case, seem to be pretty high level.
“You seem to be, now, a low risk of reoffending. There is a great deal of positive to be thought about as far as the future is concerned, if you can stay on the rails. You have a supportive family to help you with that. I also reflect the delay in this case.”