Pennington drug dealer Zak Mapes spared jail

A PENNINGTON man who made £16,000 in nine months through dealing drugs was spared prison by a judge.

Zak Mapes (21), of Howards Mead, was told by Judge Gary Burrell at Southampton Crown Court he had come "within a whisker" of going down but his youth, admittance of his guilt and support for his family had saved him.

Prosecutor Siobhan Linsley said police who attended Mapes' address on 6th December 2019, in response to a domestic incident involving the defendant, spotted cannabis – sparking a drugs search of the property.

They discovered 667 bags of ecstasy tablets with an estimated street value of £6,670, as well as 18.22g of cocaine valued at around £1,850, and £961 cash.

Two phones were seized and examined. Texts revealed dealing between February and December 2019.

Ms Linsley said further analysis of Mapes' bank accounts found evidence of money being transferred into it which related to drugs.

"In total £16,000 went into his account between January and December in 2019," she said.

While he was co-operative at the scene, Mapes answered no comment to questions put to him in police interview.

He appeared before the court having admitted four charges: being concerned in the supply of cocaine, and possessing class A and B substances and criminal property.

Defending, Paul Walker asked the judge to take the "extremely lenient" course of not jailing Mapes immediately, highlighting reasons why he would be justified taking that course of action.

They included Mapes' early guilty pleas, the fact he was only 19 at the time of the offence, that he had since undergone probation supervision and committed no further offences.

He was also supportive of his mother, who had experienced problems with her mental health, and his girlfriend's family.

A pre-sentence report had suggested a better course of action would be to rehabilitate him by sending him on courses, including one to address substance abuse.

Eventually the judge agreed, handing Mapes a two-year term he opted to suspended for two years. He also told him to do 240 hours of unpaid work.

"You have come very close to putting yourself away for a very long time," Judge Burrell told Mapes.

"Lead a decent life, forget the part-time drug dealing and look after your family. That is what is important in life."