Teenagers guilty of assaulting officer

TWO 15-year-old boys have been found guilty of drug dealing and wounding a policeman in Ipswich.

The Ipswich Crown Court jury of five women and seven men reached unanimous verdicts convicting the youths of dealing heroine in Foxhall Road and cutting Pc Robert Preston by striking the top of his head.

Despite blood dripping into PC Preston's eyes he chased the boys towards Ipswich town centre after witnessing them exchanging drugs for cash in an alleyway next to the Co-op Store at the top of Grove Lane.

The teenagers from London denied charges of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply and to causing the officer actual bodily harm.

David Gibson-Lee defending one of the boys said his client had been forced to sell heroin in Ipswich by London drug dealers and he had acted under duress. He said the youth had not realised the policeman was a plain clothed officer and had attacked him in self-defence.

During the trial the jury heard that police witnessed the two black defendants selling drugs to two white men on January 29 this year.

Police seized ten wraps of heroine valued at £100, two child return saver train tickets from Stratford, London to Ipswich, a rucksack containing £1,330, two mobile telephones and a piece of paper containing various Ipswich telephone numbers and addresses.

The Evening Star believed it was in the public interest to identify the boys and requested that the court lift a reporting restriction which protected the boys' names from being published due to their young ages.

However, Mr Recorder, Rupert Overbury said: “There is no justification at present but I will give the Evening Star liberty to ask again at sentencing to see if there should be any change”.

The youths were remanded into the custody of the local authority until their date to be sentenced has been fixed. Pre-sentence reports were ordered by the court.