Trick-or-treat drugs bungler

Donald Junior Green (centre) leaves Oldham Magistrates Court with mother Angela Gregory (left).

TRICK-or-treating children were given a bag of cocaine instead of Haribo sweets while out with their police officer dad.

The last knock on their Hallowe’en round was at a house in Mendip Close in Royton, where the children were greeted by 23-year-old Donald Junior Green.

Oldham magistrates heard how the apprentice panel beater had been at his girlfriend’s house when he accidentally handed over a £200 bag of drugs instead of sweets to the three children aged five, six and eight.

He had bought the drugs earlier in the day and had planned to use them at a rave the coming weekend.

But when Green, of Sycamore Avenue, Chadderton, saw the children coming to the door later on, he put his last two bags of Haribo in the same pocket.

He shouted to the dad, off-duty PC Simon Howell, that he only had two bags of sweets left and that one of the children might be disappointed. But the officer said he would split the sweets up when they got home.

Prosecutor Sean Brady said it was only when the family left and Green put his hand in his trouser pocket, that he realised his mistake.

Meanwhile PC Howell was at home looking at the sweets when he noticed a snap bag of white powder among the toffees and made a swift call to his colleagues.

Steven Sullivan, defending, told the court how Green had initially run out of the house and searched for the family in a bid to make amends but couldn’t find them - and so got a mate of his to drive him around the local area.

He added that his client had acted in “public spirit” by handing out sweets - but that it had gone wrong.

“This is an unusual and unfortunate case - not excusable but isolated,” he said.

“It was an accidental act and it was grossly foolhardy but it was not deliberate.”

Mr Sullivan added that Green had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and was deeply sorry for the shame he had brought on his own family and for the upset caused to PC Howell’s family.

Mr Brady told the magistrates that had one or all of the children taken the Cocaine “the outcome could have been catastrophic.”

Chair of the bench, Joyce Cooper, ordered Green to complete a community order of 12 months with 130 hours of unpaid work.

He must also pay £85 court costs and £60 victim surcharge.
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