Prison for drug dealer caught driving without licence

Tuesday 02 March 2021

A chef has been sent to prison for four years and nine months for supplying cocaine and cannabis, and driving twice while banned.

Kevin Richard McCauley (36) was sentenced in the Royal Court on Monday for supplying between 35g and 43g of cocaine, and between 18g and 26g of cannabis with a combined street value of up to £9,500 between November 2019 and last February.

Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit told the Court that police officers had searched McCauley’s home on 20 February 2020, and had found 1.88g of cocaine and various drugs paraphernalia, including a set of scales, a large quantity of snap-seal plastic bags and £448 in cash.

They also seized his phone, which when analysed revealed the extent of McCauley’s dealing. Based on the messages, the police concluded that he was “a busy and prolific supplier of Class A and Class B controlled drugs", adding: "...it is clear that the defendant has access to a regular supply of controlled drugs and is constantly peddling those drugs.”

McCauley’s various motoring offences stem from him being caught speeding at 42mph in a 30mph zone in St Peter on 7 March 2020.

Pictured: McCauley was caught driving while banned twice in a week.

Checks revealed that he did not have a valid driving licence, having been disqualified for 18 months in 2011, which required a re-test at the end of the ban, which McCauley had not taken.

A week after the police interview, when McCauley had confirmed that he did not hold a valid driving licence and his insurance was about to expire, he was seen driving at Minden Place Car Park. As well as being banned, McCauley was not the registered owner of the car and, by this time, he was also uninsured. 

Advocate Rebecca Morley-Kirk, defending, said that McCauley had had an extremely difficult childhood which had led to alcohol and drug addiction in his late teens.

However, he had succeeded in remaining abstinent for a number of years but had succumbed to drink and drugs when faced with the pressures of family life. 

“He regrets what he does everyday and he dearly wishes he could turn the clock back,” she said.

In passing sentence, Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae, who was sitting with Jurats Ramsden, Hughes and Dulake, said: “You describe yourself as a middle man in the trade but it is people like you who enable drugs to proliferate in our community.

“You are fortunate to have a partner of 16 years who has stood by you through thick and thin and are lucky to have home to go to when you are released. 

“You cannot let your fiancée and your children down. This is a poor example to them and we hope you take full advantage of the programmes in prison to make sure you do not appear before the courts in Jersey again.”