Drug dealer cut off tag to go on holiday spared prison by judge at Preston Crown Court
Judge Kirsty-Ann Gunn gave Louis Holloway his last chance after he cut off his GPS tag to go on holiday
A drug dealer who cut off his GPS ankle tag to jet off on a stag party abroad has been spared jail for a third time by a judge in Preston.
Louis Holloway removed the device because he feared he would be blocked from flying when he went through airport security scanners, the city’s Crown Court was told.
The 32-year-old scaffolder admitted his second breach of a suspended sentence order issued earlier this year for drugs offences.
He was given a further four-month curfew to add to the eight months originally ordered in February, meaning he will remain on a tag with restrictions on leaving his home address well into next year.
And Judge Kirsty-Ann Gunn told him: “This is your very last chance.”
Barrister Adam Quine, prosecuting on behalf of Lancaster Probation Service, said Holloway had avoided being sent to prison in February for possessing cannabis with intent to supply when a judge gave him an 18-month sentence suspended for two years with strict conditions.
In addition to being ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and attend 20 rehabilitation days he had also been ordered to wear the electronic monitor for eight months.
But Holloway, of South Road, Morecambe, breached the terms of that order in June and his curfew period was extended until mid-January. Now it will continue until May.
Mr Quine said Holloway had failed to attend two sessions of unpaid work in July and the order had since been suspended after he had completed less than half his scheduled hours.
However the probation service said his overall compliance had been “good” and they advised Judge Kirsty-Ann Gunn to continue with the suspended sentence instead of sending him to prison.
Mr Quine said Holloway had cut off the tag on August 5 to go on holiday. He said: “This was not acceptable at all. He was told he could go on holiday in principle. He was told (by probation) that going to the airport he might have to remove the tag – so he cut it off.”
Travellers with electronic tags need official authorisation in writing from a court or the probation service to fly out of the country.
Holloway had none. Barrister Kira Unsworth, defending, said the reason behind him cutting the tag off “appears to have arisen out of confusion”.
She added: “He had already invested a lot of money into that holiday.”
She said the reason he had skipped appointments was that he was the sole breadwinner for his family (he has four children under the age of 10) and he couldn’t afford to miss work to attend the sessions.
“Effectively he prioritised being able to care for his children.
“He tells me he informed probation about the holiday. They said he could (go). He was then told 24 hours before he was due to leave he wouldn’t be able to go through the airport with the tag on.
“He accepts he should not have taken the option he did.”
She asked Judge Gunn not to activate the suspended prison sentence and suggested the GPS tag curfew could be extended to reflect his second breach.
“When he attends (unpaid work and rehabilitation sessions) his compliance is good. But the cutting off of his tag to attend a stag do goes against that.”
Judge Gunn told Holloway: “You have breached an order in a serious way. You must attend unpaid work appointments.
“You cut off the tag. That is absolutely unacceptable. I was seriously considering activating the (suspended) sentence today just for that.
“You are asking quite a lot today. You say that you are unable to do unpaid work because you work in full-time employment to earn money for your family. That is a big ask.
“Given that probation are still willing to work with you and they feel you are manageable in the community I have decided to give you your last chance. But this is your very last chance.
“If you do anything like cut off your tag or don’t attend (rehabilitation sessions) that sentence will be activated.”
She replaced unpaid work with four extra months on the tag. He must stay at home between 7pm and 6am, including weekends.
“It is going to be restrictive. That means you are not able to go on holiday. “If you breach any of these you will come back before me and be sent to prison. This is your absolute last chance.”