April 17, 2020 2.27 pm This story is over 50 months old

Lincoln cocaine dealer hands himself in at McDonald’s

He approached the officer, saying “I just want to come clean”
He handed over the drugs, explaining: "I've had enough".

A man who handed himself into police at McDonald’s after selling crack-cocaine on the streets of Lincoln was jailed for two years and four months.

Connor Smeaton, 22, had travelled to Lincoln from London on a train after seeing the city on a destination board.

Smeaton spent two weeks selling crack-cocaine in Lincoln before deciding to give himself up, a court was told.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Smeaton was in McDonald’s on Ruston Way at 5am on 2 August when he approached a police officer.

Gurdial Singh, prosecuting, said Smeaton told the officer: “I just want to come clean. I bunked the train from London and I’ve been in Lincoln selling crack.”

Smeaton pointed to his pocket and handed over £45 and a kinder egg.

The kinder egg was found to contain seven wraps of crack-cocaine with a street value of £140.

During police interview Smeaton admitted he had been in Lincoln for about two weeks selling crack-cocaine but had now had enough.

Christopher Brewin, mitigating, told the court it was a “somewhat unusual case.”

Mr Brewin said: “Mr Smeaton approached the police officer and told him he’d had enough.

“He has been in Lincoln Prison for six months where he has refused all offers of Mamba.

“He is highly motivated and wants to return to South London to live with his father and get a job when he is released.”

Smeaton, of no fixed address, admitted possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply on 2 August, 2019.

Passing sentence Judge Simon Hirst told Smeaton he could reduce his jail sentence because of his early guilty plea.

The judge said: “The best mitigation in this case is that you approached a police officer and told him that you had drugs which you then volunteered.

“Had you not done that you probably wouldn’t have been arrested on that night.”