Gomes, who was born in Madeira, was 17 at the time of the offences.
Crown Advocate Carla Cavalho laid out the facts of the case, telling the Court that n January, Police searched Gomes’ bedroom in January and found 26 MDMA tablets, which were pink and orange owl-shaped tablets with ‘Panama’ marked on one side, on the top shelf of his wardrobe and top drawer of his bedside table.
They also found 3.3g of cocaine, 103mg of MDMA powder, and 3.76g of cannabis resin.
Pictured: Gomes was sentenced by the Royal Court on Friday.
The drugs were estimated to be worth up to £1,845 in total.
Gomes’ mobile phone was also seized as well as drug paraphernalia including digital scales and a grinder containing small amounts of cannabis resin.
Gomes was located and arrested later that evening, and initially answered “no comment” to all material questions when interviewed.
He initially refused to provide his mobile phone PIN, but later complied after an official notice.
Conversations on the Snapchat app showed Gomes sending messages “consistent with offering to supply class a drugs, namely MDMA and ecstasy”.
One message to a contact sent in early January read: “Some? Panamas or coce g?” Later in the month, he sent another message reading: “Safe g got some coce there aswell g 120 g 120£ g.”
Initially appearing in front of the Magistrate’s Court, Gomes entered guilty pleas to all four charges, but the case was deemed to serious to be heard there.
Advocate Cavalho said that she believed a “non-custodial sentence can be justified in this case”, particularly as Gomes had only been 17 at the time of the offences.
She was also sympathetic to Gomes’ “problematic family situation” and acknowledged his early guilty pleas, although said that he was “initially uncooperative” in interview.
Advocate Cavalho explained that Gomes was to be treated as a “man of good character” as although he had one previous conviction, it was unrelated and therefore irrelevant to this case.
The Crown recommended 180 hours community service, which as equivalent 12 months youth detention, and a 12 month probation order.
Agreeing with the Crown’s request for a non-custodial sentence, Defence Advocate Christopher Baglin said that Gomes was a “young man of good character” who fell on the “very lower end of scale involvement of drugs trade”.
He explained that while Gomes acknowledged that he had committed “very series offences”, the supply of drugs was for “relatively small amounts” and only took place over a “short period of time”.
Advocate Baglin said that Gomes’ “difficult and fractured upbringing” meant that he had a “distorted view of drug use”.
He explained that “shortcomings in the Madeiran schooling system” meant that Gomes was placed with older boys and “fell into a bad crowd at a very young age”.
He added: “These experiences clouded or normalised his thought patterns regarding the use of substances.”
Gomes arrived in Jersey at the age of 12, and was barely able to speak English. Due to this, he faced “continuous bullying” throughout his time at school.
Advocate Baglin said that, despite his unfortunate circumstance, Gomes had an admirable character of “just getting on with it”.
He described his client’s “exemplary and enviable work record” as a “skilled and valuable member” of a local tiling firm.
The defence advocate also highlighted how Gomes had turned his life around since his arrest. At the beginning of the year, he moved into his own flat which he was paying for by himself and had a new partner who was a “positive influence”. He is no longer using cannabis or any other drugs.
Advocate Baglin said that Gomes had “taken the journey from boy to man in a very short period of time against a very challenging background”.
He added that he believed there was a “bright future for this young man” which was “future dependent on him staying out of trouble”.
Advocate Baglin said that Gomes had shown “genuine insight and genuine remorse”, and the defence advocate believed that his client would be a “positive influence on other members of any community service teams that he was a part of.”
He agreed with the Crown’s recommendation of 180 hours of community service.
Bailiff Timothy Le Cocq was presiding with Jurats Jurat Jeremy John Ramsden and David Paul Le Heuzé.
They agreed to sentence Gomes to 180 hours community service, which as equivalent 12 months youth detention, and a 12 month probation order.
Handing down the sentence, Bailiff Timothy Le Cocq said: “You have committed very serious offences and, were it not for your youth and other matters, you would be walking from here into a van and straight to prison. We have therefore given you a chance, although there was some legal discussion as to whether a chance was appropriate.
“You must comply with the probation order and complete your community service obligations. If you don’t, you will be back before court, and you will have squandered this chance and you will not get it again. We are taking at face value that you wish to put this behind you and lead a lawful life.”
He added: “We hope we will not be disappointed. Please do not be back here again.”