Top young Harrogate martial artist sentenced for selling ‘cannabis edibles’

Samuel Dalby, 19, from Harrogate, relied on the drug for pain relief after the back injury threatened to stall his burgeoning career in combat sports, York Crown Court heard.

Dalby, who was on the brink of national stardom in the sport, was caught out by plain-clothed police who spotted what looked like a drug deal near Harrogate town centre.

Prosecutor Neil Coxon said officers saw a youth “loitering in an alleyway” near Skipton Road.

The unnamed teenager walked towards a VW Polo where Dalby was waiting to hand him cannabis “edibles”, namely hash brownies.

The officers swooped on the vehicle and Dalby told them he had a “cannabis brownie” in the boot.

They also noticed he was wearing a ring “across his fingers, which had the appearance of a knuckle duster”.

Police searched the teenage drug customer and found three cannabis brownies on him.

His older sister then appeared on the scene and said she had asked her brother “to go to the car to get cannabis for her”.

Dalby - who was 17 at the time of the drug bust in February 2021 - was arrested along with the two teenagers who were dealt with by way of an out-of-court disposal.

Officers later searched Dalby’s home and found £320 in cash, digital weighing scales, a small amount of cannabis bud and “cannabis edible packaging”.

Chillingly, they also discovered a “large” zombie knife, a ferocious-looking “Rambo-style” blade and another knuckle duster.

These discoveries were not part of any criminal charges.

Mr Coxon said Dalby had been knocking out hash brownies at £15 to £25 a pop.

He said incriminating text messages were found on Dalby’s iPhone on which they found debtor and price lists for the chocolate cannabis brownies.

There were also “a series of messages between Dalby and others in connection with the supply of cannabis edibles” between October and December 2020.

“He offered different sorts of edible cannabis at various prices,” said Mr Coxon.

Police also found texts sent on February 6, 2021, the day Dalby was arrested, when he texted the teenager saying he was “Here now” and asking him to “Come round the back”.

Dalby, of Spinner Lane, Harrogate, was charged with supplying cannabis and offering to supply a Class B drug between October 2020 and February 2021, as well as possessing an offensive weapon, namely a knuckleduster.

He admitted the offences and appeared for sentence today.

His solicitor advocate Michele Turner said the talented martial artist, who worked as a chef, had never been in trouble before and was now drug-free.

She said the drug bust was “effectively the best thing that could have happened (because) it’s scared him straight”.

Judge Simon Hickey said it was evident that Dalby had got involved in “cannabis and cannabis edibles” after turning to the Class B drug as pain relief to counter his back injury which had hindered his martial-arts training.

Character references showed that, until the back injury, Dalby was “going places” in combat sports and “may have been at a national level”.

“Unfortunately, cannabis got in the way of your career,” added Mr Hickey.

However, he said would not be sending Dalby to prison because he otherwise a “man of good character”, had a good job and was “highly thought of”.

Dalby was given a 12-month community order with 80 hours’ unpaid work.