'Exploited' Wolverhampton teen who was 'cuckooing' at drugs den broke in and 'trashed place'
A teenager who broke into and "trashed" a house in a "frightening" burglary sparked by a row over drugs has avoided prison.
The 17-year-old from Wolverhampton, who cannot be named for legal reasons, burst in through the window of the home in Burford, Brookside, Telford, demanding money and drugs.
One of the terrified occupants frantically fled, while another hid upstairs and phoned 999.
The youth was told he could have been jailed for 10 years if he committed the offences as an adult, but Judge Anthony Lowe accepted that he had been exploited as part of a county lines drugs racket.
Shrewsbury Crown Court was told that the youth had been "cuckooing" in the house - a practice where vulnerable people in drug debt allow dealers to peddle substances from their home. The people living there owed £800.
Drugs were being dealt through a bedroom window at the property for around six months before a police bust on October 4 last year. The youth was removed from the house by officers.
However, the youth and two other males were back at the house in the middle of the night on October 5. A man and woman were inside at the time.
One of the victims inside the property said that the youth asked where his money and drugs were, before reaching through the broken window, opening the latch and climbing through. The victim said the defendant and one of the others were carrying large kitchen knives.
