Billingham care worker jailed for supplied cocaine

A VOLUNTARY care home worker has been jailed for more than two years after he got embroiled in using and dealing cocaine. Jamie Paul Catchpole, 27, did charity work helping people with Alzheimer’s at a care home, but he also “fell under the spell of drugs”.

Teesside Crown Court heard how he was drawn into the drugs underworld before he was locked up in front of his distraught family.

He got addicted to cocaine and owed £2,500 to a dealer. He lost his job and “took the soft option and the stupid option” to deal the Class A drug for two months, said defence barrister Peter Wishlade.

Plain clothes officers caught Catchpole in a Vauxhall Tigra with three other men in a car park on Casson Way, Billingham, on May 11 this year.

A carrier bag containing bags of cocaine was found in the car with a tick list, said prosecutor Sharon Elves yesterday.

When Catchpole was arrested he said: “It’s mine. Nothing to do with them. It’s about an ounce and a half and I got it that way.”

En route to the police station, he also told officers to look in his sock for more drugs. In total, he had 56.55g of cocaine worth £2,248. Texts related to dealing were found on mobile phones.

He also had £905 in cash which has now been confiscated as proceeds of crime.

Catchpole, of Blakeston Road, Billingham, told police he was selling drugs for someone he refused to name, and was given the bags earlier that week. He said the other men in the car were driving him around and he wasn’t paying them for that service.

He admitted possessing with intent to supply and supplying cocaine, and acquiring criminal property. He had no similar previous convictions, and none at all for nine years.

Catchpole had a reference from health and social care service provider Care UK.

Mr Wishlade said the charity work showed the kind of hard-working and “exemplary” man he really was.

He said: “He is extremely naive. He unfortunately fell under the spell of drugs, found himself owing a lot of money, saw no way out, was given that opportunity and unfortunately took it.”

He said Catchpole played a limited role under direction, would have received cocaine to feed his addiction and all of the money would have gone back to the dealer. Catchpole owned up right from the start, was genuinely remorseful and expected to go to prison, added Mr Wishlade.

Judge Peter Armstrong told Catchpole: “It’s unfortunate to see someone like you here, who is clearly capable of living a most useful life.”

He said only prison could be justified for his significant role in street dealing, but greatly reduced the sentence for the confession and pleas. He jailed Catchpole for two years and three months.