Birthday drugs 'treat' lands brother in bother with police
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Richard Shepherd sprang a birthday surprise on his brother Graham... a share in a drugs stash.
When police officers walked in on them it was Richard Shepherd they caught bang to rights, with white tell-tale white powder on his nose.
The 30-year-old previously admitted, on indictment, possession of cocaine with intent to supply it to others. He will be sentenced next month.
The birthday 'treat' was revealed by solicitor George Mathers, who said that Richard Shepherd had purchased the Class A drug on the internet but stressed that there was no question of it being a commercial enterprise.
Wick Sheriff Court heard on Thursday that police officers who entered Graham Shepherd's house in Kennedy Terrace, Wick, on the evening of May 17, 2018, were looking for someone else but stumbled on what fiscal David Barclay termed "classic signs of drugs misuse".
Mr Barclay said: "There was powder on Richard Shepherd's nose and on a coffee table. Further white powder was recovered from his jogging bottoms which also proved to be cocaine."
In total, the drugs were said to have a lump sum value of £200 to £250 but would have fetched £500 had they been sold in single-gram wraps.
Mr Barclay also confirmed that there was no commercial involvement and that the drugs were intended to be shared only with "one other person".
A plea of not guilty by Richard Shepherd's brother Graham (31) to possession of cocaine with intent to supply was accepted, previously, by the fiscal.
Mr Mathers said that Richard Shepherd's offence was his sixth involving drugs and appreciated that this would be of concern to the court. However, the accused had obtained a job as a commis chef and had moved from Wick to Lythmore Road, Thurso, to be near his work in a local hotel.
Sheriff Andrew Berry said he appreciated that the drugs didn't constitute a commercial proposition but referred to the accused's record, which might lead him to conclude that "only a prison sentence was appropriate".
However, the sheriff said he had to consider whether there were any other sentencing options such as Shepherd's suitability for a drug treatment testing order, although the accused had previously indicated he was not ready to commit to that.
Sheriff Berry suggested that Shepherd's 'depressing' refusal to commit to a drug testing order might mean that he had no intention to stop taking Class A drugs and would be free to engage in crime to fund them.
The case was continued to June 15 when the court will hear whether Shepherd is suitable for a drug testing treatment order and a restriction of liberty order.
The drugs were ordered to be forfeit.
