A father has been caught attempting to smuggle drugs concealed inside a crisp packet into a high-security prison for his son, who is serving a life sentence for murder.
Thomas McMahon, 64, was visiting his son Joseph Peers at HMP Full Sutton in Yorkshire on June 22 last year when security staff observed him surreptitiously moving a crisp packet across the table. Peers was the getaway driver in the murder of Ashley Dale, a care worker shot dead in her home in Liverpool in 2022.
Court Details
At Hull Crown Court, prosecutor Julia Baggs explained that McMahon and two women were visiting Peers when staff noticed McMahon moving his mouth before placing an item inside a crisp packet. Multiple identical crisp packets were on the table and were rotated several times, arousing suspicion. CCTV footage confirmed the packet was moved, and staff discovered 14 white, oval-shaped tablets inside.
Baggs noted that drugs are a high-value currency in custodial settings and that transporting prohibited items into prison is a serious matter, though this was not a large-scale operation. McMahon claimed his son was suffering back and knee pain and that the tablets were prescribed painkillers he had not used himself. The prosecution did not accept this explanation but did not challenge it.
Previous Convictions
McMahon has 23 previous offences, most recently in September 2023 for drug-driving with cannabis after a trip to Amsterdam, which his lawyer said was due to stress from his son's murder trial. Father-of-four McMahon had no prior drug possession or supply convictions.
Defence lawyer Billy Torbett said McMahon was immensely remorseful and had made a significant error in judgment. He had been banned from visiting his son, causing emotional distress.
Sentencing
Recorder Taryn Turner stated that drugs in prison fuel violence, intimidation, and debt, and that McMahon's actions were a serious lapse in judgment. McMahon received a six-month suspended prison sentence, 120 hours of unpaid work, and 15 days of rehabilitation activity.
Background of the Murder
Joseph Peers, now 33, was the getaway driver on August 21, 2022, when gunman James Witham shot Ashley Dale with a Skorpion submachine gun at her home in Leinster Road, as part of a plot to kill her boyfriend Lee Harrison. On November 22, 2023, Peers was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 41 years for murder, conspiracy to murder, and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon with intent to endanger life. He will be 70 before eligible for release.
