Pair sentenced for drug supply after teenager died
Two young men have been given custodial sentences for supplying ecstasy to a group of teenagers, including a 16-year-old schoolgirl who died after collapsing in a nightclub.
James Greaves, 19, of Hatt in Cornwall, was sentenced to three and a half years in a young offender institution with Taylor Rowsell, 18, of Rosebery Road in Exmouth, Devon handed a two-year sentence.
Lucy Hill, 16, died in December 2022 after taking MDMA and collapsing at the Move nightclub on Exeter Quay.
Greaves and Rowsell were under 18 at the time of the offences, and both pleaded guilty at Exeter Crown Court to jointly supplying the drug.
The court heard how Greaves had emptied prescription pill capsules and refilled them with MDMA before resealing them.
He then supplied the tablets in different sizes and colours to Rowsell for ÂŁ200.
The court heard Rowsell had been contacted by a teenage girl who asked for MDMA but was unable to supply her himself, so called Greaves who had drug supply links to Devon.
Ms Hill and five friends had taken a taxi into Exeter from her home in Exmouth to go to the Move nightclub.
They took the pills but all soon became ill and felt dizzy.
The court heard they all âfelt badâ on the dance floor before club staff took Ms Hill outside and called an ambulance.
Police arrested both Rowsell and Greaves the morning after.
âSimple greedâ
Judge James Adkin told the two teenagers: âYou were both active class A drug dealers.â
He added Rowsell acted out of âsimple greed for moneyâ that was âgreater than your concern for any customerâ.
He said: âRowsell was in business for himself. He was in it for money and status.
âThe business had been going on for months. That night alone he sold 35 and intended to sell many more.
âHe was selling to children, targeting youngsters at a nightclub where no alcohol was available, it was purely for children and was a dry evening.â
He added: âLucy Hill died because you sold her drugs, you sold her two tablets, despite the fact that you were concerned about the dosage.
âIt seems to me you were simply greedy, and your greed for money was greater than your concern for any customer.â
Ms Hillâs mother Deborah Hill told the court her daughter was âkind and caringâ and their âlives will never be the same againâ.
Her family called her the âperfect angelâ.
Defence barristers for both Greaves and Rowsell said Ms Hillâs death âweighs heavilyâ on them.
Det Insp Sally Johns, from Devon and Cornwall Police, said Ms Hill was ânot a routine drug userâ but a âyoung girl embarking on life, looking forward to the future ahead of herâ.
She said: âThat evening an error of judgement in young minds, led to Lucyâs future being cut so tragically short.
âThis could be the case for anyoneâs child or young adult.
âWe have seen that these substances can kill many times, and this is another tragic case.
âI urge anyone considering taking drugs to think twice and reconsider.â
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