Sunderland man dropped bag with cannabis as he fled from police

Gediminas Lusas, 28, let go of his backpack in panic when he hot-footed it outside his home in Riversdale Terrace, Ashbrooke.

But he, was known to officers from past misdemeanors and later arrested.

Magistrates in South Tyneside heard he refused to answer questions when interviewed about the drug possession offence.

Prosecutor Paul Anderson told the court: “He ran off but dropped his backpack. An officer who was following saw that it had cannabis in it.

“In due course, he was interviewed but gave no reply.”

Lusas pleaded guilty to possession of controlled class B drug cannabis on Friday, November 4.

It was the second time he had appeared at the same court to face a drugs’ charge in the past two months.

In November, he pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

At that hearing, it was revealed he had taken the wheel of his VW Golf on Thursday, November 3, within four hours of being banned from the roads.

Lusas was disqualified by the South Tyneside court in the morning for drug-driving but was seen motoring in Sunderland by police at around 2.30pm the same day.

When his uninsured car was towed away after his arrest, the recovery truck driver found a bag of cannabis hidden inside which Lusas admitted was his.

For those offences, he was sentenced to a year-long driving ban and a 12-month community order, with a requirement of 160 hours of unpaid work.

At his latest court appearance, Syed Ahmed, defending, said: “He says he had some cannabis for personal use.

“He says he has some mental health issues, and the cannabis was a coping mechanism. He accepts responsibility.”

Magistrates ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drug and sentenced Lusas to a six-month conditional discharge, with £85 court costs and a £26 victim surcharge.

Kay Gilbert, chair of the bench, told him: “Try to turn your life around. You really need to keep on the straight and narrow.”