Man facing prison over cannabis factory in flat
A MAN from Knowle admitted growing 21 cannabis plants in his ground floor flat.
A MAN from Knowle admitted growing 21 cannabis plants in his ground floor flat.
Jason Shakespeare, 42, harvested 3.29kg of cannabis flowering head and 1.61kg of cannabis leaf - and diverted more than £1,300 worth of electricity to do so.
At Bristol Magistrates' Court yesterday Shakespeare, of Camberley Road, admitted producing cannabis and abstracting £1,374.75 electricity without authority
District judge Simon Cooper said the offences were so serious Shakespeare needed to be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court.
May Li, prosecuting, said that officers attended the flat on January 24.
"They believed there was a cannabis factory operating from the ground floor flat," she said.
"Officers went to the rear of the property and could smell cannabis.
"They forced entry and found two rooms where cannabis was in different states of cultivation.
"The electricity meter was checked and had been bypassed.
"In one bedroom there were five plants growing and in the second bedroom there were bundles of plants hanging by string from the ceiling, drying.
"There were also 16 empty pots - a total of 21 plants altogether."
Ms Li explained that Shakespeare had admitted playing a "significant role" in the cultivation of the class B drug, and said the starting point was one year's custody.
Simon Macfarlane, defending, said Shakespeare had no previous convictions but was "realistic" about the type of sentence he may receive.
Mr Cooper said: "It is beyond the powers of this court to sentence you.
"I consider this a significant operation in which you played a significant role.
"The police may not have caught you in full production - you had obviously already harvested one crop.
"Therefore, I believe the crown court is the proper forum for this case to be sentenced."
Shakespeare will be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on July 1. He was released on unconditional bail.
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk 10/06/2013
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