Crack dealer who tried to cycle away from police in Wakefield is jailed

Patrolling officers knew Aiden Harpin from his previous offences and tried to stop and search him on Belle Vue Road on May 10, 2019, Leeds Crown Court was told this week.

But he tried to accelerate away on his bicycle when he saw the officers, prosecutor Jessica Heggie said.

He then dropped his bike and was grabbed by one of the officers with whom he struggled on the floor.

By this time, two members of Harpin's family had turned up and he managed to throw one of them a package which was "spirited away", added Ms Heggie.

He was heard to shout to his family members during the struggle: "Tell her to clean everything out and get rid."

The prosecution said this referred to eliminating all evidence connected with drug dealing.

Once he was under control, a second, identical package was then found on Harpin which contained 51 wraps of crack cocaine, with an estimated street value of £700.

His mobile phone was taken off him and was found to contain messages related to drug dealing.

He gave no comments during a police interview.

Harpin, 24, of Park Green, Normanton, has two previous convictions including drug dealing and possessing cocaine. He was already subject to a suspended sentence when he committed his latest offence.

A probation report found that Harpin had been addicted to drugs since he was 16 and was in a cycle of debt. However, he had stayed clean for the last two years and had moved away from the Agbrigg area of Wakefield.

Mitigating, Stephen Uttley said that Harpin was "terrified at the prospect of prison" and said that had turned his life around by moving away, having a son with his partner and staying out of trouble since.

He said: "He is a reformed character, different today to what he was back in 2019."

But Judge Rodney Jameson QC told him a custodial sentence was "impossible to avoid" and so gave him the four-year term.