A convicted killer who was caught tending a £20,000 cannabis farm to fund his way out of Dundee has been ordered to stay out of trouble for six months.
Sheriff George Way told Stephen Robbins he was taking the “unusual step” of deferring sentence until March for him to be of good behaviour.
Robbins told Dundee Sheriff Court he was trying to raise money to fund a move away from the vengeful associates of his victim.
Robbins, 37, admitted having cannabis with intent to supply it at City Road, Dundee, on May 31 2021.
He claimed he was being persecuted by people who knew DJ Ryan Barrie and felt he had to move away from the city for his own safety.
He was sentenced to 20 months in prison in January 2021 after he admitted killing Mr Barrie, 39, during a heated row.
Drugs raid
Fiscal depute Lynn Mannion previously told the court police raided his flat and found the cultivation.
“He admitted growing the cannabis to sell for £5,000 to fund a move to Nottingham for him and his father, who is now deceased.
“The cannabis was grown as a one-time operation, to sell to one person, to fund this move.
“In total, 63 plants were recovered. Around 35 were immature and had no intrinsic value.
“The remaining plants had a potential yield value of £21,000.”
‘Trauma’ after high court case
Solicitor Ross Donnelly, defending, told the court his client had “experienced trauma” in the wake of his culpable homicide conviction.
“The intention of raising this money was partly to get away from those who knew the deceased person in that case as they had made life extremely uncomfortable for him.
“There is a fairly complicated picture here for the court to put it in context.
“The court could perhaps view it a little more leniently than usual.
“Drug misuse has sadly become a feature of his life as a mechanism for coping.
“He is seeking assistance to overcome these obstacles.”
Caused death of ‘noisy’ man in street
In December 2020, the High Court in Edinburgh heard how Robbins fought Mr Barrie for making noise in the Benvie Gardens, Dundee.
He fell and struck his head on a wooden fence beam and died after being taken inside, where had fallen asleep before his breathing stopped.
Unemployed Robbins was initially charged with murder, but the Crown accepted his guilty plea to culpable homicide.
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