A woman who allowed her partner to use her home to deal Class A drugs desperately tried to barricade the door in a doomed attempt to keep the police out when they suddenly arrived to search the house.
However, cops managed to force their way in and found stashes of heroin and crack cocaine he was selling on the streets and “making substantial amounts of money”. She had been answering phone calls from potential buyers,
Martin Ridehalgh, 43, admitted being concerned in supplying both heroin and crack cocaine. His then partner, Rachel Ridehalgh, 43, admitted permitting her premises to be used for the supply of drugs between May 9 and September 26 last year, reports Hull Live.
Jeremy Hill-Baker, prosecuting, said when police went to her home, Rachel Ridehalgh, also known as Rachel Peskey, started to barricade the door in an effort to keep cops out. It had to be forced open, and a plastic replica pistol was also discovered inside.
During a search, officers then found 293mg of heroin and 3.23g of crack cocaine, with a total street value of £1,620. Digital scales and £549 cash were found, £300 of it on Martin Ridehalgh.
There were dealer lists and messages advertising the sale of drugs were found on a mobile phone. “This is street dealing directly to users,” said Mr Hill-Baker.
Rachel Ridehalgh answered the phone to answer inquiries about drug sales and to explain what was on offer. She was not involved in the actual dealing.
She was well aware of the scale of the operation and allowed her premises to be used for the sale of Class A drugs. “While she was not directly supplying drugs, she must have been sharing an expectation of significant financial advantage,” said Mr Hill-Baker.
The pair had previous convictions, mainly for theft-related offences. Martin Ridehalgh had convictions for two offences of possessing Class A drugs.
Oliver Shipley, mitigating, said the couple were in a relationship for more than three years. Martin Ridehalgh went into custody at the age of 16. “At the age of 20, his life spiralled out of control with Class A drug addiction,” said Mr Shipley.
“Since then, he has not worked and he has been continually in trouble.” He was now clear of drugs after 13 months in custody on remand. He was working in prison as a cleaner.
Cathy Kioko-Gilligan, representing Rachel Ridehalgh, said the defendant was not herself dealing drugs. “She accepts that she was aware,” said Miss Kioko-Gilligan. “She has made significant strides. She has not been in more trouble since then.”
Judge Richard Woolfall told Martin Ridehalgh drugs “wreak havoc on people’s lives” and caused problems for victims of drug-related crime. “Anybody dealing in Class A drugs will receive a substantial prison sentence,” said Judge Woolfall.
“You are too old to carry on doing what you are doing.” Rachel Ridehalgh “can’t have been blind” to the fact Martin Ridehalgh had a large amount of drugs in the house and he was making substantial amounts of money.
Martin Ridehalgh was jailed for three years and nine months. Rachel Ridehalgh was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence and 15 days’ rehabilitation.
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