A cocaine dealer who advertised the best deals in Torbay has been jailed for three years and one month.
Lewis Cowell, 33, was caught with 24 bags of cocaine in his home town of Paignton. He said he had never looked in the boot and did not know they were there.
When police examined his phone they found over 600 messages had been sent to users in three days. The texts said: "Guys and girls, get the best deals in the Bay. The number one line in Torbay."
Cowell admitted possession with intent to supply, assaulting emergency workers and driving while disqualified at Exeter Crown Court. The court was told he had had a traumatic childhood but the judge said the public expected drug dealers to go to prison.
The court was told that two PCSOs approached a suspicious BMW in Hyde Road at 2pm on June 5 this year. Cowell attempted to drive away but still had the handbrake on. In the confusion he reversed the car into the leg of a PCSO. He fled when more officers arrived but was caught.
Police found 23 bags of cocaine in the boot and one in the central console. Cowell said he had not looked in the boot since buying the car a month earlier and was just driving a friend to the barber. The drugs had a street value of £720, said prosecutor Herc Ashworth.
Hundreds of messages on his phone revealed offers to sell cocaine, ketamine and cannabis products. Cowell was bailed but was stopped in a car in South Street a few weeks later with a small amount of cocaine.
The defendant, of Trelissick Road, has 25 previous crimes on his record, including recent convictions for drug driving and possession.
Paul Dentith, defending, said Cowell's problems were cocaine-related. He had stayed out of trouble for a number of years and worked as a chef and fisherman. His mother and brother both died of alcoholism and his lifestyle was chaotic. But he was tackling his addition and making good progress.
Judge James Patrick said he did bear in mind the 'enormous difficulties' of Cowell's childhood and his progress but the street dealing was committed against a background of other recent offences. He said he understood 'the grip of cocaine' on an individual but the public 'would be offended' if somebody who had been repeatedly arrested was to walk free.
Torbay Dealer Jailed for ‘Best in the Bay’ Drug Deals