Corby teen had £10k of drugs stuffed under bed, was 'cuckooed' and living in squalid conditions after both parents died

A young Corby man found with a cache of class-A drugs under his bed had been ‘cuckooed’ by two mystery drug dealers.

Tragically, Jamie Matthew saw both his parents die before he was an adult. He’d been left caring for his younger brother, living in complete squalor in a trap house that had been taken over by two men who have since slunk back into Corby’s criminal underworld.

Police raided the run-down council-owned home he’d been living in Butterwick Walk, Corby, in August last year, where almost exactly four years earlier, killer Sean Doherty had brutally kicked Tom Gravestock to death.

Amid the rubbish-strewn rooms, piled high with, empty takeaway cartons, dirty clothes and detritus, they searched Matthew’s bed and found stuffed under it 76 grammes of cocaine separated into 170 deal bags.

There was also 288 grammes of cannabis and £1,500 in cash.

A gun – which turned out to be a blank firing pistol – was also found in the property, but firearms charges were not brought before the court.

Prosecuting, Ben Gow, outlined the basis of Matthew’s guilty plea to charges of possession of cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply it, telling Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking KC that he had admitted being custodian of the drugs. Matthew, who was 19 at the time of the raid, also admitted possession of £1,500 considered by the court to be the proceeds of crime.

Mr Gow said: “The house was being used by other people who were rather more sophisticated, who are still being sought.

"There was no physical or phone evidence of him dealing and he’s got no previous convictions. He was a custodian for drug dealers.”

Drug paraphernalia was found in other bedrooms in the house where other adults were living.

Matthew has since moved out of the house and into a relative’s property and has been in no trouble with the law since.

Mitigating, Claire Fraser gave details of a letter written to the court by a uniformed professional who had known Matthew since he was a toddler and been friends with the family. The moving letter detailed Matthew’s dreadful early life. Judge Lucking ordered if be read out publicly, in open court as it provided key mitigation that would affect the sentence handed to the 20-year-old defendant.

Miss Fraser said that Matthew’s mum had given birth to him as a teen herself and had struggled to look after him and his brother, frequently relying on the family friend to care for them overnight and feed them. She split with their father when they were very young.

She suffered from depression and then met a man who became the boys’ stepdad. They had three more children together but there were allegations of domestic abuse.

Matthew’s father had died in 2020 and he became his brother’s carer. Both were left alone at home frequently. His mother died of breast cancer the following year. Matthew was just 17-years-old and was left with his step-father who was himself consumed by grief.

The court heard how the boys were ‘intermittently abandoned’ and ‘open to exploitation’.

Miss Fraser said: “The letter goes on to say how Matthew is not a bad young man, he’s got a very big heart and cares immensely for his family and friends.

“He held the drugs for a relatively short period of time – two months – and for no financial reward. He was paid in cannabis.

"He’s been applying for jobs, trying to move forward, recognising the mistakes he’s made.

"There were two older people living at the address. He was living with other people who had moved into their home after his mother died. He was a vulnerable young person.”

The court was told that police are still trying to locate the others who were living with Matthew.

Judge Lucking said Matthew had had an ‘extremely challenging upbringing’ and had come within an hair’s breadth of losing his liberty.

She said: “The prosecution accepts they were not your drugs but you were the custodian of those drugs.

"It’s a particularly unpleasant feature of people who operate in the drugs system that they prey on younger, vulnerable people.

"The reason they do that is to avoid blame themselves.

"Your upbringing was not always a happy one.

"Your mother was struggling to cope with your care and that of your siblings. She had two very troubled relationships. You have been present when police have been called to the house.

“Your father died suddenly in 2020 and your mother then died the following year. Not only were you suffering bereavement you had to cope with frequently being left alone to fend for yourself.”

Sentencing guidelines would have meant that, after trial, Matthew would have faced a jail term of two years and three months. But after taking into account the personal mitigation and his guilty plea, Judge Lucking said she would give him a jail sentence of 18 months, suspended for two years.

"People who hold drugs as custodians go to prison, just as drug dealers do,” she said.

"But you were, in effect, cuckooed. Others preyed on your vulnerability.”

Matthew was ordered to undertake 40 rehabilitation requirement days as well as 180 hours of unpaid work.

"Stay away from drugs,” warned Judge Lucking.

"They bring you into contact with criminal elements to which you’re vulnerable.”