Mum of violent Walsall gang member jailed for trying to smuggle drugs disguised as chocolate into prison
Offender who “failed” her granddaughter heard wailing in the dock as judge sent her down
The mother of a violent gang member has been jailed after smuggling drugs disguised as a chocolate bar into a Shropshire prison for him.
Claire Evans, aged 40, wailed loudly in the dock at Shrewsbury Crown Court as she was sent down for sneaking drugs for her son Rehman Stanton into HMP Stoke Heath, near Market Drayton.
Stanton was jailed for eight years in December 2024 for his role in a gang violence in Cobden Street, Walsall in which resulted in gunshots being fired and cars being torched.
While Stanton has been in prison, his mother has been looking after his four-year-old daughter “70 per cent of the time”.
At Evans’s sentence, the court was told that on a prison visit to see her son on May 13 last year, she went up to the refreshments counter and placed what appeared to be a chocolate bar on a tray.
She handed the tray to Stanton, and he put the “chocolate bar” in his pocket.
However, a prison officer observed what was going on and the item was seized.
The chocolate wrapper was found to contain 6.97 grams of cocaine, 20.4g of synthetic cannabinoids, 24.3g of cannabis resin and 19.5 buprenorphine tablets - some of them crushed into powder.
The “prison value” of the drugs was said to be around £2,800 combined.
Evans was arrested and gave a “no comment” interview to police officers.
Evans, of Wycliffe Grove, Walsall, pleaded guilty to four counts of conveying a listed article into prison. She has no previous convictions.
Olivia Appleby, mitigating, said that Evans looks after Stanton’s daughter most of the time, and that the child’s mother is also a convicted criminal who is likely to be jailed “for some length” next week.
“I represented her son,” Ms Appleby said. “It is difficult for the family.
“She is genuinely remorseful. She has described herself as stupid and very disappointed in herself.”
Ms Appleby said Evans had gone on a “downward spiral” after her son was jailed and became addicted to cocaine.
“She is aware of the consequences,” Ms Appleby said. “She has packed a bag in the dock with her. She is ready to go to prison.
“However, she is nervous for her four-year-old granddaughter. That child deserves way more than this.”
Ms Appleby added that Evans said she has been clean of cocaine for six months.
“Her father’s failed her, her mother’s failed her, and so have you.”
However, her mitigation was not enough to persuade Judge Anthony Lowe not to send Evans to jail.
The judge told Evans: “I have no sympathy whatsoever for what you did. The reason these offences are taken so seriously by the court is the effect of those drugs in prison.
“They are used to extort. They are used to bully. The evil they do in prison is even worse that the evil they do in society generally.
“There simply has to be deterrent sentences.
“There is recognition of the stupidity of what you did,
“I’m sorry about the situation with your granddaughter, but quite frankly, everybody who has cared for her has failed her.
“Her father’s failed her, her mother’s failed her and so have you.
“This offence is too serious for me to suspend the sentence.”He jailed Evans for 16 months. It is expected she will serve up to half of the prison time behind bars before being released on licence.
She could be heard crying loudly from the dock and shouting to her partner in the public gallery, as the rest of the court stayed silent for several minutes before she was eventually taken down.