Wolverhampton man, 60, who was caught trying to flush cocaine during police raid is sentenced to prison time
The officers were able to stop him and fish the drugs out
A Wolverhampton man who was caught trying to flush cocaine down his toilet during a police raid on his home has been jailed.
Police executed a warrant at a flat in Humber Road at 7.40am on November 28 of 2023 and found three people inside including its occupier, Melvin Price, who was in the bathroom blocking the door and attempting to flush 13.5 grams of cocaine, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
The officers were able to stop him and fish the drugs out before searching the rest of the property, Edward Soulsby for the prosecution told the court on Wednesday (October 28).
They found a bag containing 21 individual wraps of cocaine, totalling just under 1.5g, as well as £480 in cash inside a fridge, £395 in a wallet and two bank cards in the name of a man whose home had been burgled the month prior.
Weighing scales were also recovered.
Price was arrested and told officers he allowed homeless people to stay at his home but largely gave no comment in response to questioning, the court heard.
He pleaded not guilty to possession of a class A drug with intent to supply and handling stolen bank cards, but did not attend his trial.
Before a second trial could be held he changed his plea to guilty, on the basis that he had the cocaine primarily for his own use but would share it with people he allowed to stay at his home.
In mitigation for Price, 60, Jas Mann told the court the defendant had begun abusing class A drugs after his mother died five years ago.
Mr Mann said: “This offending goes back to 2023. For some inexplicable reason [...] he is not charged until January 20, 2025.
“There’s a considerable, inexplicable delay in what is a relatively straightforward case.
“Of course, he hasn’t helped himself by pleading not guilty and not turning up to his trial.”
He said Price has abstained from drugs while on remand.
“He’s in a sensible and sober state of mind.”
Recorder Joanne Barker noted Price has 24 previous convictions dating back to the 1980s including for handling stolen goods, but none for drug offences. She also acknowledged he had previously gone 10 years without committing a crime and had expressed remorse for his offending.
But he was sent to prison earlier this year for breaching the terms of a 48-week suspended sentence for theft.
“You continue to present a high risk of re-offending,” the judge told him, “and you have a very recent history of poor compliance with court orders.”
She handed down a sentence of 20 months in prison for the cocaine offence and a concurrent one-month sentence for handling the bank cards.
It is expected Price, of Humber Road, will serve one-third of that before being released on licence.
The time he has spent on remand will be taken into account.