Notts assault man "left holding the bag" with drugs and cash

Steven Hodgkinson was sitting in the passenger seat of a Renault Clio, when police stopped it on Derby Road, Kirkby, just before midnight, on February 27, 2018.

He had a manbag in his lap which contained 35 grams of cocaine, valued between £1000 and £3,500, 94 grams of cannabis, worth £940 if sold in seperate deals, and £1,376 in cash. He denied that they belonged to him.

"The bottom line is the Crown can't say what the truth is here,” prosecutor Steven Taylor told Nottingham Crown Court, on Wednesday.

He said the driver of the car has since been sentenced for his role in “a wider drugs conspiracy.”

The court also heard Hodgkinson was convicted of assaulting his ex-partner in October 2018, and a three year restraining order was imposed.

But on August 25, 2019, the woman agreed to meet him because he had been harassing her.

"When she changed her mind and didn't show up, this set off a barrage of abusive texts,” Mr Taylor said.

Hodgkinson kept making threats by text until he arrived and damaged her car with a bicycle.

The court heard has was jailed for two years for assault in 2011, and received a suspended sentence in 2015 for dealing cannabis.

Gregor Purcell, mitigating, said Hodgkinson was recently diagnosed with a learning difficulty which makes it difficult for him to keep his temper.

"It is clear that he is someone who needs support," he said, adding that Hodgkinson has kept out of trouble since last year.

Hodgkinson, 32, of Cherry Avenue, Kirkby, pleaded guilty to possession of Class A and Class B drugs, criminal damage, and breaching a restraining order.

Judge Steven Coupland told him he was cynical about his account of what he was doing in the car, saying: "You were in every sense left holding the bag.”

He imposed a 23 month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with a 31 day programme and 15 rehabilitation days. Hodgkinson must abide by a 12 week curfew, from 9pm to 7am, and pay £200 compensation from his benefits.

Read the latest cases from Sheffield Crown Court here.

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