Fred Obidi [2019] EWCA Crim 1581

**R v Fred Obidi** [2019] EWCA Crim 1581 concerned an appeal against sentence brought by a man who pleaded guilty to two offences of possessing controlled drugs of Class A with intent to supply, for which he received concurrent sentences of two years and six months’ imprisonment in the Crown Court at Lewes.

Mr Obidi pleaded guilty before Sussex Central Magistrates’ Court on 28 March 2019 and was committed for sentence to the Crown Court pursuant to section 3 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000. On 25 April 2019 His Honour Judge sentenced him to two years and six months’ imprisonment on each charge, to run concurrently.

On 7 March 2019, police stopped Mr Obidi whilst he was driving a car on Lewes Road in Brighton. Officers found four wraps of drugs, a set of scales and two mobile phones in the vehicle. A further search of Mr Obidi’s person revealed more drugs in two tubs, one concealed in his jumper and one in his underwear. In total there were 90 wraps, some containing heroin and some containing crack cocaine. Mr Obidi told officers that he was selling the drugs on his own account in order to raise money to pay off a drug debt. He denied being part of any drugs ring and did not claim to have been subject to pressure, coercion or intimidation.

The sentencing judge applied the relevant guideline and determined that Mr Obidi played a significant role and was engaged in street dealing, placing the offences in category 3. The starting point for that category was four and a half years’ custody, with a range of three and a half years to seven years. The judge gave Mr Obidi a discount of 25 per cent for his guilty plea, resulting in a sentence equivalent to three years and four months’ imprisonment before discount. This fell below the bottom of the applicable range. The judge did not explain why he considered it appropriate to depart from the range. No aggravating factors listed in the guideline were present. The sole mitigating factor was Mr Obidi’s age of 24 years and his lack of previous convictions. He had claimed that he lost his job as a delivery driver, that he became depressed and that he had turned to smoking crack cocaine in an attempt to lift his mood, thereby acquiring the drug debt which he sought to repay through dealing.

The single ground of appeal, for which leave was granted, was that the judge should have applied a one-third discount for the guilty plea entered at the first available opportunity, rather than the one-quarter discount actually given. The judge had referred to “technical reasons” for limiting the discount to one-quarter, but had not explained what those reasons were.

The Court of Appeal, comprising Lady Justice Nicola Davies, Mr Justice Lavender and Mr Justice Nicklin, agreed that Mr Obidi was entitled to a one-third discount for his guilty plea. The Court also held that the sentencing judge should not have departed from the guideline range. The circumstances relied upon by Mr Obidi, including the absence of medical evidence of depression and the voluntary acquisition of a drug debt through his own drug use, did not justify going below the bottom of the range. The Court considered that the appropriate sentence before discount for guilty plea would have been four years’ imprisonment. Applying a one-third discount to that figure would produce a sentence of two years and eight months’ imprisonment after discount. However, the Court was not permitted to increase Mr Obidi’s sentence and did not consider it appropriate to reduce it either.

In short, the appeal was dismissed because, although the appellant was entitled to a greater discount than the judge had given, the correct starting point was higher than that adopted below, meaning that the sentence ultimately imposed was not manifestly excessive.