A lottery winner who scooped a £9.7m (US$18 million) jackpot was yesterday jailed for five months after breaching a drugs testing and treatment order.
Michael Carroll, 21, of Downham Market, Norfolk, failed to comply with a 12-month testing order which was imposed in March after he had admitted possession of various drugs.
He was told by Swaffham magistrates yesterday that he would have to serve the sentence because he had failed to turn up for testing twice a week. The court heard Carroll had only turned up for one of his testing sessions since his last appearance in court on June 1.
Carroll's lawyer, Neil Meacham, said his client had failed to attend because he had been the victim of an intimidation campaign.
In March he admitted possessing 19.7 grams of cocaine at his home with a street value of £1,500. He also admitted possessing 20 grams of cannabis resin worth £70, nine grams of herbal cannabis worth £10, and magic mushrooms worth £1 and allowing his home to be used for the smoking of cannabis.
In court yesterday, Mr Meacham said Carroll had been threatened, blackmailed, and physically attacked, and his property had been damaged.
Carroll's cousin, who gave his name as Mark Smith, 40, but refused to have his address made public, told the court that his cousin had been so intimidated in the past month that he had been frightened to leave his house.
He said men turned up at Carroll's house wearing balaclavas and shouted at him from nearby fields. They smashed his garage door, his kitchen door and damaged his car. They also attacked him and his friends.
Mr Smith said the nightly attacks lasted from 10pm to 5am and as a result Carroll had difficulty eating and sleeping.
Carroll, who was a dustman before his win in November 2002, has been a persistent offender. When he won his jackpot he collected the winnings wearing an electronic tag imposed by the courts for being drunk and disorderly.
Since then he has had a series of run-ins with the courts, appearing more than 30 times for various offences, connected with drugs, benefit fraud and driving.
In June 2003, he was fined £12,000 for benefit fraud. In October 2003, he was fitted with an electronic tag for failing to complete an 80-hour community service order.
In February, he was fined £200 for driving on a provisional licence without L plates.
Carroll, who has "evil" tattooed on his neck, is thought to have spent most of the £9.7m he won on homes, cars and jewellery.
Nextdoor neighbours have told how he turned the back garden of his five-bedroom home into a race track for cars and quad bikes.
He bought a three-acre field next to his house from a farmer and races on it with friends. Neighbours have complained that this goes on during the night and the cars are sometimes set alight.
Carroll also set fire to a 40ft mobile home on bonfire night last year after using a mechanical digger to surround it in the racetrack field with wood and rubbish.
It might be time for Mr. Carroll to put what is left of his fortune to good use and get out of England for a while. I'm sure he can drink and get & take drugs somewhere where he won't get arrested.
In the meanwhile, we wait for the next story about Jack Whittaker.
Oh, how foolish -- and only 21. Jack Whittaker, who is much older and is supposed to be more mature, is an American embarrassment! All the financial planners/advisors in England will not help Mr. Carroll with his soon-to-be financial difficulties. Then again, he might feel guilty winning -- look at his acquaintances/friends who surround him: losers or what!
It might be time for Mr. Carroll to put what is left of his fortune to good use and get out of England for a while. I'm sure he can drink and get & take drugs somewhere where he won't get arrested.
In the meanwhile, we wait for the next story about Jack Whittaker.
Oh, how foolish -- and only 21. Jack Whittaker, who is much older and is supposed to be more mature, is an American embarrassment! All the financial planners/advisors in England will not help Mr. Carroll with his soon-to-be financial difficulties. Then again, he might feel guilty winning -- look at his acquaintances/friends who surround him: losers or what!
dphillips (Blue)