A teenager was found in possession of £500 worth of heroin and crack cocaine and a Zombie-style knife after he attempted to flee from police. Months before he assaulted a woman with a picture frame at sheltered accommodation.
David McCauley, 19, was arrested near his mother’s home in Cardiff on November 19 after they were called to a domestic disturbance between the defendant and his mother. Upon being seen in the street, he ran and was chased by officers who detained him and searched him.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard a Zombie-style knife and a package was thrown by McCauley as he was chased. The package was later found to contain eight wraps of crack cocaine, weighing 2.86g, and three wraps of heroin weighing just under a gram. The value of the drugs was around £500.
Prosecutor Megan Jones also told the court about a separate incident which took place at a supported living facility in Cardiff. On August 29, McCauley assaulted Holly Fryer in her room after she refused to lend him her mobile phone to access Snapchat.
The defendant became abusive towards Ms Fryer and called her offensive names. He then picked up a wooden framed canvas picture and hit her to the face with it. The victim was upset and distressed and alerted accommodation staff. When McCauley was arrested, he told police he was in possession of a Rambo-style knife, which he claimed he carried for his own protection. The knife was found in his waistband during a search.
McCauley, of Hiles Road, Ely, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs, two counts of possessing a bladed article in a public place and assault by beating. He was also in breach of a suspended sentence order. The court heard he has previous convictions including burglary, possession of a bladed article, driving offences, and possession of cannabis.
In mitigation, Hasim Salmman said his client had a troubled childhood with his father absent and his mother having issues with alcohol and drugs. The defence barrister said McCauley had been forced to leave home on a number of occasions, and was homeless or living in hostels, where he suffered assaults and was once stabbed. The defendant recently lost his cousin, who was killed in a scooter crash in Ely, which led him to falling into misusing crack cocaine and other drugs.
Judge Lucy Crowther, who described the hearing as a “sad case”, sentenced McCauley to a total of 40 months detention in a young offenders’ institute. He will serve half the sentence in custody before he is released to serve the remainder on licence.
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