A judge has told a cannabis dealer that his focus should be on his parental responsibilities to his two children.
Andrew Bradnum's illegal activity was discovered after police stopped a drug user in the street and found Snapchat messages the defendant had sent advertising the drug for sale.
Swansea Crown Court heard that Bradnum has previously been sentenced to 43 months in prison for dealing cocaine following a probe into a dog breeding business.
Police investigation
Brian Simpson, prosecuting, said on March 25 this year police carried out a stop and search procedure on a known drug user in Swansea, and a check of the person's phone showed Snapchat messages offering cannabis for sale. The number sending out the messages was linked to Bradnum's mother while clues in photos sent out led to the defendant himself being identified as the sender.
The court heard that on March 28 officers executed a search warrant at a property in the Blaenymaes area of the city and recovered one wrap of cannabis, £540 in cash, and a quantity of empty snap-seal plastic bags. Bradnum answered "no comment" to all questions asked in his subsequent interview.
Previous conviction
Andrew Bradnum, aged 31, of Lark Place, Blaenymaes, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis, the simple possession of cannabis, and possession of criminal property - cash - when he returned to the dock for sentencing. He has seven previous convictions for 12 offences, six of which are for drugs matters.
In May 2023 the defendant was sentenced to 43 months in prison for being concerned in the supply of cocaine. That conviction followed a visit to the defendant's house by police and council trading standards officers as part of an investigation into a dog breeding business which revealed the occupant was dealing coke.
On that occasion Bradnum refused to reveal the PIN for his phone but officers were able to gain access to the device, and found messages relating to the buying, selling and delivery of the Class A drug - including one message where the idea of exchanging coke for oral sex was mentioned. Police also found an advert the defendant had posted on social media that said he was looking for someone to work for him as a runner delivering drugs with the requirement that the new employee be a "grafter" and "not a grass".
Sentencing
Sarah John, for Bradnum, said at the root of the defendant's offending was his own long-standing misuse of drugs. She said her client's father had been a user, and that during his childhood drug use was "normalised" resulting in him first trying controlling substances at the age of 12.
The barrister said the offending was limited to a small number of messages, and she said they were her instructions that the father-of-two would abide by any requirements which the court sought fit to impose.
Judge Huw Rees said the appropriate sentence in the case was around 18 months in prison and the only real question for the court was whether the term had to be served immediately. He said he wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing but he had decided to give the defendant a chance, telling him his focus should be on his parental responsibilities.
Judge Rees told Bradnum: "I am going to give you a chance. If you throw it back in my face, that is your problem not mine. If you do so, it will be in the face of your responsibilities to your children".
With one-quarter discounts for his guilty pleas Bradnum was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for 18 months, and was ordered to complete a drug rehabilitation requirement, a probation requirement, and a 90-day alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement. The defendant will also have to do 150 hours of unpaid work in the community.
