A MAN with a criminal record described as “a tragic revolving door of offending” spanning more than 20 years has been handed a four-year jail term for possessing cocaine worth up to £17,000 with intent to supply.
The Royal Court’s Superior Number, which only convenes for the most serious cases, heard that several packets of cocaine, including one hidden inside a Kinder egg container, had been found by police officers during a search of a house in St Helier in July 2023, with a total of 51 grams of the class-A drug being seized, at an estimated value of between £10,200 and £17,000.
Crown Advocate Emma Hollywood said two mobile phones and just over £1,000 in cash had also been taken during the search, after which William Watton-Roberts (35), from Chester, was arrested and subsequently charged with grave and criminal assault.
The court was told that Watton-Roberts had been sentenced to a total of three years and seven months in June 2024 for the assault, contempt of court and charges relating to stolen property and possession of cannabis, but that there had been a delay in bringing the cocaine charge until February of this year.
Analysis of phone records showed a series of messages clearly showing that drug-dealing had been taking place, Advocate Hollywood added.
Advocate Chris Baglin, defending , admitted his client’s record was “not enviable”, with his first custodial sentence being imposed when he was 14 and preventing him finishing school.
“This was the start of a tragic revolving door of offending… repeatedly in and out of prison,” he said.
Advocate Baglin said there was positive evidence that Watton-Roberts was taken a more positive attitude to turning his life around, completing a range of courses while serving his sentence at HMP La Moye and planning for an offence-free future.
Commissioner Alan Binnington, presiding, told Watton-Roberts his record was “appalling” and stemmed from “the environment in which you were brought up where crime and violence were the norm”, but acknowledged there were positive signs of reaching a turning point in his life.
For the charge of possessing cocaine with intent to supply, to which he pleaded guilty, Watton-Roberts was jailed for four years, with the sentence due to start in January 2026, the point at which he was due to be released from his previous sentence.
Jurats Christensen, Le Cornu, Cornish, Berry and Powell were sitting.
