A Derbyshire father-of-three with ‘an unusual fascination with money’ has been found with designer shoes, clothes and watches worth thousands of pounds. Derby Crown Court heard how £25,000 in cash was also discovered during the search of the property linked to Harvey Yeomans.
After being arrested, the 31-year-old admitted to officers he turned to selling cocaine after losing his job after failing a random drug test at work. Now, his longtime partner and three children, aged under 10, will be without him as he serves a prison sentence.
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Jailing him for three years, recorder Charles Thomas said: “The reality of this offense is that you had been dealing drugs for one to two years and it started after things started to go wrong for you.
“You lost your job because you failed a drug test and chose to treat consistently on a regular basis.
“From there you were able to save around £25,000 in cash and you continued to trade.
“I’ve seen letters from family members that say you have a compulsion to hoard money because of a personality trait you’ve had for some time.”
Prosecuting Melissa Morton said police spotted a white Kia Sportage driven by the defendant in Woodville, Swadlincote, just after 4pm on April 8 this year.
She said they watched him pull up at a gas station and saw what the officer believed was drug dealing between Yeomans and a van driver.
The prosecutor said: “He was taken to a police station and there he gave two addresses, one being his parents where he had not resided for some time and the second being the address of his partner.
“In the kitchen of the second floor was a large quantity of cocaine.
“There was 4.38g and a smaller piece of white rock and then a large 74g boulder plus £515 in cash.
“In one room there was around £24,360, designer clothes, shoes and watches.
“Receipts showed the shoes had cost in the area of thousands.
“In his interview he said he lost his job and decided to sell drugs to make money.”
Yeomans, of Ashby Road, Swadlincote, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply a Class A drug and possession of criminal property – namely money.
He has eight convictions for 12 offenses but nothing relating to drugs, Miss Morton said.
Mitigating Steve Cobley said family members and a work colleague were in the public gallery to support his client, who has been in custody since his arrest.
He said: “Can I say from the outset that Mr Yeomans and those supporting him in court today know that this will be immediate custody.
“Mr Yeomans was working and earning a good salary, but during the lockdown his drug use increased.
“There was a random drug check at work and he lost his job.
“He was offered an easy way to make money (selling drugs) but we all know there is no easy way.
“He has an unusual fascination with money and he reflects on what he did while in prison and how he behaved will affect his three young children aged eight, four and two and his partner in long standing about nine years.”