A DOMESTIC abuse victim whose partner got her involved in drugs and drug dealing has been spared a trip to jail.
Kirsty Jones, 37, had hundreds of pounds of cocaine on her when police raided her flat, York Crown Court heard.
By then her partner had been jailed for nearly three years, but she had continued to peddle drugs.
Jones, of Windsor Garth, Acomb, pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to supply it to others.
The Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris, told her: “Most drug dealers go straight down the stairs (to the cells) in my court.”
But “it was obviously and patently clear” from what he had read in the case that a violent person had got her involved in drugs.
Since her arrest, she had got away from her violent partner, kicked her drug habit and sorted out her life.
Sending her to jail would to undo the progress she had made, he said.
He gave her a 20-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months on condition she observe a four-month nightly curfew from 6pm to 6am and 10 days’ rehabilitative activities.
“I’m going to lock you up in your property and make you watch others enjoying the summer,” the judge told her.
Rachel Webster, prosecuting, said police carried out a drugs raid on Jones’ flat at 9.20am on June 24, 2022.
Jones had 10 bags of cocaine on her worth £400 to £500 in street deals, £60 worth of pregabalin consistent with being for her own use, and a phone with records of texts advertising that she had drugs for sale.
For her, Michael Greenhalgh said she had been in an abusive relationship with a man who dealt drugs. When he left her, she had a drug addiction, physical injuries, anxiety and post traumatic distress syndrome.
“He was sent to prison for just short of three years,” said the defence barrister.
She had become involved in drug dealing to fund her habit and that continued under the direction of others when her partner was jailed.
“She wasn’t able to do anything else,” he said.
Her parents supported her to seek medical help and once she was away from drugs she was able to stay out of trouble with the police.
She regretted selling drugs.
The judge warned Jones not to allow the abusive partner back into her life because once someone started hitting women, they “will always hit women no matter what they say.”
He added: “Many, many women in such relationships go from one to another of the same sort of block. Just be careful who you pick.”
• The York -based charity Independent Domestic Abuse Service (IDAS) helps anyone suffering from or affected by domestic abuse of any kind including physical, emotional, psychological or sexual. Its 24-hour helpline is 0808 2000 247, its North Yorkshire contact number is 03000 110 110 and its email is at info@idas.org.uk. Its website is https://idas.org.uk/.
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