Dudley dealer gave pal his fatal fix (From Dudley News)
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Dudley dealer gave pal his fatal fix
12:50pm Wednesday 11th July 2012 in News
Dean Huxley
A DUDLEY drug dealer injected a Stourbridge man with £5 worth of heroin – who was then found dead a few hours later, a court heard.
But 37-year-old Dean Huxley, of New Street, who was jailed for four years for supplying the drug, could not be charged with manslaughter because victim Mark Wills suffered from heart disease and other major health problems.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Huxley and 49-year-old Mr Wills, of Caslon Crescent, Norton, were part of a group taking drugs and smoking cannabis at the flat in September last year.
Mark Rees, prosecuting, said Mr Wills paid Huxley £5 for the heroin fix, which he “cooked” on a spoon before using a syringe to inject it into his friend, who he had got to know over ten months through their “drinking and drug culture.”
Mr Rees also told the court Huxley had also taken heroin himself while he was in the ground floor flat and it was the following day – September 3 – that divorced artist Mr Wills was found dead.
Nicholas Berry, defending, said: “This is a tragic example of what Class A drugs can do and he knows that all too well.”
He added Huxley had been “devastated” by the death and was full of remorse for his actions.
Sentencing Huxley, Recorder Nigel Baker QC, said it was at the request of Mr Wills that he had injected him with a quantity of heroin with a tragic outcome.
He said: “This case is the best possible illustration of the dangers of Class A drugs to those who decide to inject them.”
He told Huxley, who is currently serving a three-year jail term for robbery, it was a moot point as to whether what had happened to his friend would change his attitude towards drugs. The quantity you supplied was small but the consequences were devastating and the fact death ensued has got to be an aggravating feature,” he added.
Huxley, who is not due to be released from custody on his current sentence until July 24 next year, admitted supplying heroin.
