A bricklayer caught dealing cocaine and cannabis to fund his own drug habit has been jailed.

Jay Ede, 27, was pulled over in the car park of Sainsbury’s, Kidlington, on December 7, 2019.

There was a strong smell of cannabis in the car and when police officers searched the vehicle they found a half-finished spliff in the centre console and a £70 wrap of cocaine.

He had £250 in cash in a trouser pocket and a baseball bat in the car.

Messages and a ‘tick list’ of debtors discovered on Ede’s phone showed he was selling large amounts of the class A drug. He sold an ounce of cocaine for £1,400, dealing other amounts for between £600 and £700.

Prosecutor Christopher Pembridge said Ede had a previous conviction in 2013 for possession with intent to supply MDMA, cocaine and cannabis.

Ede, of Webbs Close, pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court to possession with intent to supply cocaine, being concerned in an offer to supply cannabis and possession of the class B drug.

Jailing him for 30 months, Judge Nigel Daly said: “You have done this before, albeit quite some time ago and you were given a suspended sentence order but you really don’t seem to have learnt your lesson.

“I say that, however I can see how you’ve behaved in the last couple of years and maybe you have [learnt your lesson].

“The starting point is four-and-a-half years and I can’t ignore the fact you’ve done it before.”

He warned Ede: “You have two convictions for possession with intent to supply class A drugs. Next one is a minimum of seven years’ imprisonment. I hope you have stopped this.”

The defendant assured the judge that he wouldn’t see him back in a courtroom again. “I’m delighted to hear it,” Judge Daly replied.

Eiran Reilly, mitigating, said of his client: “He’s changed. He’s not the same man.”

At the time, he had been addicted to cocaine and supplying in order to fund his own habit.

He was now living with his partner, was a qualified bricklayer and was supported in court by members of his family. “This is a man who’s moved on from where he was,” his barrister said.

Ede was said to be ‘very aware’ of the harm that drugs cause: “He’s aware that dealing class A drugs destroys families.”

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