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Prosecutor Regan Walters told Swansea Crown Court that police were called to reports of a physical altercation between a man and a woman in Milford Haven at around 9.50am on January 19.
As they arrived, a man began walking away from them. He did then identify himself as 33-year-old Reece Cookson, and was taken to Haverfordwest Police Station.
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Officers searched Cookson’s address and noted dripping sounds and what sounded like a large fan, Mr Walters said. They followed a ventilation tube, and through a doorway covered by a white plastic sheet they found three wire trays of cannabis being grown.
In a prepared statement in interview, Cookson accepted that the cannabis was his and said he had been growing it for his own personal use.
Mr Walters said the amount of cannabis harvested from the plants was 995.4 grams.
The court heard that the plants were capable of producing yield of between 540 grams and just over 1.5 kilograms. Mr Walters said these would have had a street value of at least £5,600, and exceeded the usual expected amount for personal use.
However, it was accepted by the prosecution that Cookson wasn’t selling the cannabis.
The defendant, of Hawthorn Path in Milford Haven, pleaded guilty to cannabis cultivation and possession of cannabis at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court. He had also previously been accused of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, however this charge was dismissed.
Caitlin Brazel, appearing for the defendant, said: “Perhaps the strongest mitigation I can make on Mr Cookson’s behalf is that he entered guilty pleas at the earliest opportunity.
“There’s no efforts to justify or diminish his behaviour.
“He told me ‘I simply shouldn’t have done it. There’s no excuse for what I’ve done’.”
She said he had turned to cannabis as a form of self-medication, but that he had now stopped taking it.
Ms Brazel said Cookson’s period in custody had “given him the opportunity to reflect on his life choices”, and he had completed the ‘Smart Recovery’ course and the ‘Motivation to Change’ programme.
Judge Wayne Beard said it would not be in the public interest for him to pass an immediate custodial sentence, as this would have seen Cookson released “almost immediately” without any further support due to the time he had been in custody.
He added that he was confident that a suspended sentence “will prevent [Cookson] from offending”, as the defendant had responded positively when previously subject to one between 2016 and 2018.
Cookson was sentenced to three months, suspended for 12 months, and must pay a £154 surcharge.
“}]] Reece Cookson has avoided an immediate prison sentence after police discovered a cannabis grow room in his home in Milford Haven Read More
