Heroin dealer jailed despite plea for leniency

A heroin dealer has been sentenced to 32 months in prison after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of the Class A substance.

21-year-old Larri Goodlad, whose address was given as Polmont Brightons Young Offenders’ Institute, admitted supplying the drug between 30th July and 15th August this year.

The court heard that Goodlad committed the offences after being granted bail at Lerwick Sheriff Court on 24th July.

Appearing at the court again on Tuesday Goodlad, who was previously imprisoned for being concerned in the supply of cannabis, admitted selling heroin in multiple locations in Lerwick this summer.

Procurator fiscal Duncan MacKenzie said that the offences came to light after a vehicle in which Goodlad was a passenger was stopped owing to “concerns about the driving status of the driver”.

Mr MacKenzie said that “upon stopping the vehicle and speaking to the accused and the driver the police officers had reasonable grounds – by virtue of comments made by the accused, their knowledge of him and his demeanour” to perform a search.

On the driver police found £100 worth of heroin, Goodlad was in possession of nearly £400 in cash and a further £700 was recovered from the driver’s side door.

The driver had later claimed that when Goodlad “became aware of the police behind them he had thrown the £700 into [the driver’s] lap”, Mr MacKenzie said.

A search warrant was then granted to search Goodlad’s address where police found a small quantity of heroin, with a street value of up to £100.

“In many respects, the accused was condemned by his own mouth”, the fiscal told the court, referring to comments made by Goodlad in a “fairly frank” police interview.

“He admitted being concerned in the supply of drugs during that interview”, Mr MacKenzie said.

A phone seized by police later revealed that Goodlad had made arrangements for selling drugs with a number of individuals and that he had also sent messages offering drugs to people “if they sold on behalf of him”.

Defence agent Charles Drummond said that though his client admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin he maintained that the £700 retrieved from the car did not belong to him.

Since his previous conviction, Goodlad had moved to Greenock where he was “keeping himself out of bother”, Mr Drummond said.

Speaking of Goodlad’s connection to drugs in Shetland Mr Drummond said: “Quite often the only means of perhaps removing oneself from that environment is moving elsewhere, which Mr Goodlad did.”

In arguing for Sheriff Philip Mann to request background reports Mr Drummond also referred to a troubled start to life for his client and added that any financial gain had been relatively small, in the hundreds of pounds rather than the thousands.

Mr Drummond said: “He is a young man my lord and I would invite your lordship to deal with him as leniently as possible in the circumstances.”

After his “inevitable” prison sentence Goodlad still had time to “return himself to a better position” in society, Mr Drummond said.

Sheriff Mann, however, said that he was already familiar with Goodlad’s background and did not see what a new background report could add to his knowledge nor how it could convince him of any disposal other than a custodial one.

“In my view there is really no purpose in obtaining a criminal justice social work report”, the sheriff said.

Referencing Goodlad’s previous drug dealing offence, on that occasion for a Class B substance, the sheriff told him: “This offence that I’m dealing with really is a stepping up of the seriousness of your offending”.

He sentenced Goodlad to 32 months in prison, backdated to when he was first taken into custody in August. The sheriff also granted a Crown motion for forfeiture of the materials seized during the search of his property.