A SENIOR software engineer who grew £45,000 worth of cannabis in his bedroom has been spared jail.
A court heard how Richard Whitty, of Lowestoft Drive, Slough, had a tent set up in his house after his brother, Thomas, came to him asking him to set it up.
Despite initially refusing his brother’s plans, Thomas got his way and 54 cannabis plants were planted in the tent.
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It was estimated that these plants would have a street value of £45,000 if they had been allowed to grow to their full size.
But the brothers were only six weeks into their operation when police visited the elder Whitty’s address to carry out a welfare check on Thomas.
Officers smelt cannabis and discovered the tent upstairs. Thomas Whitty was arrested at the scene and Richard Whitty, 35, was arrested later.
File photo of a cannabis farm.
Defending, Tom Blackburn said Mr Whitty did not make financial gain from his brother’s scheme, he did not take an active role in the cannabis cultivation, and he ‘made efforts to dissaude his brother from carrying out drug production activities’.
He said Mr Whitty would not have to be sentenced if he had reported his brother to the police but that it is ‘especially difficult’ to do this when ‘family is involved.’
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“This is a man who has made a serious mistake and he won’t be before the courts again”, Mr Blackburn added.
Sentencing, Her Honour Judge Campbell acknowledged Richard’s refusal in setting up the cannabis farm but also highlighted that he did not report his brother to the police.
Whitty, a senior software engineer at a software development company in Slough, was handed an 18-month community order.
File photo of a cannabis farm.
A requirement of this order is to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
He was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Monday, October 4.
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His brother, Thomas, was due to be sentenced on the same day but his fate was adjourned to allow for prosecutors to prepare a pre-sentence report.
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