A WEST Cumbrian man caught illegally selling prescription drugs pleaded with a judge to treat him leniently, declaring: “I’m not that person anymore.”

David Harris, 31, made his appeal from the dock of Carlisle Crown Court after he admitted three counts of having prescription-only medication with intent to supply it, including the anti-epilepsy medication Pregabalin.

But Judge Guy Mathieson refused to sentence the defendant, who lives in Distington, because the prosecution does not accept Harris’s version of his offending. This will now be determined by a further hearing.

The court heard that Harris’s offending came to light on March 30 last year. Police found the drugs on him after stopping him as he walked along a street.

In his basis of plea, the defendant, of Peter Street, Distington, saying that he sold the medication only “occasionally” to friends, claiming that he knew the person who bought the drugs from him on the day he was caught.

At this point in the hearing, Harris addressed the judge from the dock, telling him: “I’ve just got my own accommodation. I’ve changed my life. I was homeless for six and a half years.”

The judge told Harris that the primary focus of the hearing was  to determine what offending precisely the defendant would be sentenced for.  In response to this, Harris replied: “I’m not that person anymore.

“Last year, I was on the street and homeless. I’ve just got my own flat. I just don’t want it to end in a bad way.” After further discussions with his lawyer Sean Harkin, Harris stood by his basis of plea.

He  said the drugs he was caught with were mainly for his personal use and that he would occasionally supply those medications to his friends “if asked.” He did this, he said, to fund his own use of the drugs.

Judge Mathieson said the issue would have to be resolved by a crown court judge after hearing evidence from both sides, the defendant on his own behalf, and a police officer for the prosecution.

“If you want to give evidence about what you were doing, it’s a matter for you,” the judge told Harris. He set the date of that hearing as March 6. In the meantime, the defendant was granted unconditional bail.

The other two medications the defendant were caught with were Bromazolam, a so-called designer drug, made in Sweden, and Alprazolam, a fast-acting tranquilliser. All three of the medications involved are legally categorised as Class C, the least serious category of drug for such offending.

As he left court before the adjourment, Harris turned to the judge and said: "Please be light on us."