A Santa dash by prisoners raised £1,000 for charity and helped spare a County Lines drug dealer from Warrington from a prison sentence.
Details of the surprising event emerged when one of the runners at the event at Walton prison – Perry Mosey – appeared at Liverpool Crown Court for sentence for County Lines drug dealing in Warrington.
And his selfless charity efforts just hours before his court appearance led to him avoiding an immediate jail term.
Mosey aged 34, appeared for sentence along with Matthew Taylor, who also walked free after a judge heard how the former paratrooper, whose duties had included Downing Street protection, had turned to cocaine after suffering PTSD following his army service and the death of his dad.
Judge Neil Flewitt, KC, told the two defendants that he had “just” been able to suspend two-year prison sentences. “I am stretching the guidelines to the absolute limit to do so but it may be this is one of those cases where I am justified in taking that approach.”
He suspended the terms for two years and ordered them both to carry out 240 hours unpaid work. He also ordered Mosley, of Lilford Avenue, Warrington, to carry out 30 days rehabilitation activities and Taylor, of Hall Road, Woolston, Warrington, to carry out 15 days.
Andrew McInnes, prosecuting, told how police were investigating County Lines drug operation in Warrington called The Dallam Line and at 8 pm on August 21 the defendants were seen leaving a house in Nelson Road in Birchwood and driving off in a Ford Focus.
The vehicle, being driven by Taylor, was stopped by officers ten minutes later in Patterdale Avenue and when it was searched two wraps of crack cocaine and one of heroin were recovered from the front passenger door pocket.
Four bags of cannabis belonging to Mosey were also found and a bag of low purity cocaine and another of low purity heroin were discovered.
The property in Nelson Road was searched and bags of cocaine and drug dealing paraphernalia were found. A Nokia graft phone was seized which Taylor said he had topped up on August 5 and which had been used for sending up to 50 flare messages at a time.
The messages included “Dallam back on power” and “active power”, said Mr McInnes.
Jim Smith, defending, said that Taylor, who had no previous convictions, had been in the parachute regiment between 2015 and 2019 and as well as serving in Georgia and across Europe he was involved in Downing Street protection duties.
He was diagnosed with PTSD exacerbated by the death of his father and began self-medicating with cocaine.
Taylor, who has a four-year-old daughter, “is genuinely remorseful, sorry and ashamed,” said Mr Smith, who added that he plans to have therapy.
Rebecca Penfold, defending, said that Mosey, who had four previous convictions including possessing drugs, had taken part in a Santa dash at HMP Walton that morning before being brought to court. He was mentoring in prison and having therapy.
Miss Penfold urged the judge to show leniency.
