The 18-year-old, who was previously a promising young boxer and community volunteer, was sentenced to five years in prison yesterday after he was caught in possession of a blank-fire pistol and nearly £2,000 worth of heroin and cocaine.
Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday that 18-year-old Sonny Daley was employed in the drug trade after racking up cannabis debts from his dealer, the Liverpool Echo reported. Defense lawyer Lloyd Morgan told the court Daley was at university and “heavily involved” in amateur boxing before he started using cannabis at 15 and later accrued debt.
“He was pressured into dealing drugs and carrying a firearm which he believed to be fake,” Mr Morgan said.
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Daley finally came to the attention of authorities on the afternoon of July 25 this year, when police on patrol at Grant Gardens, Everton, spotted Daley with a JD Sports bag over his shoulder. The teenager, of Tordelow Close, Everton, “appeared to be dealing with drug addicts” and as a result officers attempted to stop him.
But Derek Jones, prosecuting, told how he instead “threw” some illegal substances from his possession and fled towards Everton Road. Daley then continued onto Bright Street and turned into the alley leading to Churton Court; where the PCs “heard rustling in a bush” and discovered the defendant’s hiding place.
His bag was also nearby, along with other packages of drugs. When officers looked inside they “immediately noticed what appeared to be a firearm” along with £890 in cash.
A total of 31 wraps of crack cocaine valued at approximately £660, 44 wraps of cocaine valued at £880 and 22 wraps of heroin with a street value of approximately £440 were seized. Daley told police officers at the scene that the gun was “fake”, but when analyzed it turned out that it belonged to a Turkish-made blank firing gun and was successful in the test firing.
It was also loaded with four converted blank cartridges. However, the gun is not linked to any previous shooting.
Judge Simon Medland KC told the defense after being told Daley had no previous convictions: “Your client is 18 and of previous good character. What a shame.”
“It is extremely demoralizing,” the judge continued. “Some people think selling drugs is a glamorous business. It’s not. It ruins people’s lives. Guns, in particular, are an absolute threat.”
As a mitigating measure, Mr Morgan said Daley had previously looked at a career working on the railways at university. “He is a young man, as I’m sure your honor will understand from your references, who has not only shown a lot of promise in the community, but has also contributed a lot to the organizations he has been involved with.”
“This included an amateur boxing club and the Everton youth society, where he was recognized as member of the year a few years ago. To have fallen from the hands of a young man who made such a promise shows some fundamental problems in society.
“He is very ashamed. He asked me to express his shame and remorse for his involvement. Not only is he aware that he has let himself and his family down, but he is also aware of the ills it perpetuates in society.”
“He has not wasted his time since his incarceration at Alcourse. He is working as a wing cleaner. He wants to try again to find work on the railways after he is released from prison. Family support They will continue to offer their support to Mr Daley here, he is a good man involved in crime but he is not a lost cause They will accept it.”
Sentencing, Judge Medland said: “It is a great sadness that a promising young man of good character, with good family and social support, has fallen so low as to behave in this way. This somewhat spectacular case must be swiftly dismissed.”
“Drugs ruin people’s lives. They erode society, tear families apart, and do nothing but harm. You are a living example of this. Despite the many advantages you had in life and the promise you showed as a young boxer, you started taking marijuana. This later ruined you.” It put him in touch with serious criminals who put him to work.
“By operating in this way, you were helping to continue the cycle of depravity and despair that drugs bring into people’s lives. You were doing this while armed with a working, loaded handgun.
“You may still think it’s a blank firing gun, but by the time you got it it was originally painted black and loaded with four bullets, and it worked. This is a very serious crime, even a young man of previous good character.”
Daley admitted possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of undocumented ammunition, possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply and possess criminal goods. The man, who appeared via video link to HMP Altcourse in a blue Under Armor T-shirt, was jailed for five years and four months.