Lee Thomas abandoned his Mercedes on its side after losing control in the high-speed chase
Lee Thomas(Image: South Wales Police)
A serial dealer of Class A drugs led police on an 80mph chase through “very built-up” areas before crashing and abandoning his Mercedes. When police caught up to Lee Thomas on foot they found he was carrying dozens of wraps of crack cocaine and heroin.
Cardiff Crown Court heard the 32-year-old, from Bettws in Newport, has an “unenviable” record which includes being sentenced four times for dealing drugs. On Friday he appeared in the dock to face justice for crimes from 2022 and from May this year.
The 2022 offences involved drug-dealing in the Neath and Swansea areas. His role in the operation was discovered after police detained an associate, Christian Richardson, and found in his pocket 56 cling-film packages of heroin and crack which were then linked to Thomas by DNA.
At around 10.15am on May 22 this year, Thomas — on bail for the drug-dealing — was driving along Malpas Road, Newport, in a Mercedes-Benz CLA with cloned number plates.
After cameras detected the dodgy plates, a roads policing officer attempted to pull him over but Thomas sped away. “Road conditions were not suitable for high-speed travel due to the poor road surface,” said prosecutor Nuhu Gobir.
The officer followed for a number of minutes, eventually losing sight of Thomas, but soon came across the Mercedes crashed on its side in Pentre Lane, near Cwmbran. After a foot pursuit, Thomas was detained and caught with 20 wraps of crack and “numerous” wraps of heroin in his pocket, as well as £465 in cash, Mr Gobir told the court.
Judge Jeremy Jenkins told Thomas: “You drove well in excess of the speed limit, up to 80mph, in very built-up areas where traffic was moderate to say the very least.”
Thomas pleaded guilty to possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of Class As, dangerous driving and driving while disqualified.
The defendant, of Tees Close in Bettws, had some 32 previous offences on his record including dealing heroin, crack and cannabis, and flouting a driving ban.
His barrister Ross McQuillan-Johnson argued the 2022 offences should have been progressed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) much earlier.
“The CPS had sufficient evidence to charge him in 2022 but it took two years to charge him by postal requisition,” said Mr McQuillan-Johnson.
“He has an unenviable record but he tells me in no uncertain terms that the offending can be directly linked to his heavy reliance on substances. He doesn’t seek to rely on that as an excuse. He is working closely with Dyfodol [substance misuse specialists] to deal with his drug and alcohol dependency.”
Judge Jenkins said the two-year delay between arrest and postal requisition was “lamentable, unconscionable and inexplicable”, adding: “I question what more the CPS could have had, in terms of evidence.”
The judge took this into account in passing a prison sentence of nine years and two months, and a driving ban of seven years and seven months.
As a security guard led him to the cells Thomas aimed a look at family members who sat in the public gallery, shaking his head with a disbelieving smile.
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