Police investigating a burglary in Sheffield found commercial premises operating as an obvious cannabis factory.[1] When fully searched it held more than 400 cannabis plants and a large, sophisticated hydroponic system growing the skunk variety; the self-contained, professional operation had run for about six months and could yield a crop worth about 50,000 pounds a month.[1] Between September 2001 and June 2002 Taylor, Hattersley and co-defendant John Doman set up the premises and bought the equipment, with Taylor, a qualified electrician, bypassing the mains supply to cut costs, and a fourth man, Simon Gray, supplying botanical expertise as gardener.[1]
Sentences and appeal
On 3 July 2002 at Sheffield Crown Court, Taylor and Hattersley were convicted of conspiracy to produce cannabis, a Class B drug, and the next day each was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment; Doman received eight years.[1][2] The judge treated Taylor and Hattersley as men of good character, Hattersley having no convictions and Taylor none since 1984, which Doman could not claim.[1][2] In November 2003 the Court of Appeal cut Doman’s term to seven years, and after the Criminal Cases Review Commission referred the disparity in June 2004, the court on 16 December 2004 quashed the pair’s seven-year terms and substituted six years each.[1][2]
