Blackpool drugs couple 'given a chance' by the courts

Emma Gill, 24, of Newhouse Road, Blackpool, later told officers she had committed offences because she was in debt to a dealer.

She pleaded guilty to possessing crack and heroin with intent to supply them, while her partner Dean Michael Dwornik, 31, of the same address, admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply it.

Hayley Bennet, prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, said on May 30, at around 5.45pm, the two defendants were stopped by police in blue Ford Focus.

Dwornik was found in possession of a phone and cannabis and £500 cash while Gill, who has six convictions for eight offences, had £600 cash.

Later, when she was strip searched,officers found eight wraps of crack and 22 wraps of heroin totalling 8.5 grams.

Gill gave a no comment interview, while Dwornik said the cannabis was for his own use and that the cash had been left to him by his late father.

Messages recovered from an Alcatel mobile phone shows Gill asking Dwornik to bag up drugs.

Defending Dwornik, Julie Taylor said the couple lived with Dwornik's elderly mum, and he had struggled after losing his dad.

He is now hoping to start a business in the building and maintenance trade.

Kim Obrusik, defending Gill, said she was now off class A drugs and had a job interview for waitressing in a cafe.

Judge Simon Medland QC imposed two years in jail for Gill and 18 months for Dwornik, but suspended their sentences for two years.

Imposing a rehabilitation activity requirement on each of them, he said: " As you know yourselves, because of what's happened in your own lives and the mess you're now in, class A drugs destroy people's lives.

"They ruin your health and mental stability, they bring you into contact with heavy weights who bring pressure to bear.

"And for that reason, because they are so serious, the usual outcome is for people to be sent to prison as some sort of deterrent.

"However each case stands and falls on its own facts and there are unusual features to this case, which leads me to the conclusion that it is worth taking a risk on you both - worth giving you one more chance."

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