Sudbury man jailed after showing off machete on Snapchat

Jack Shorter sold drugs so he could afford items that his friends had, Chelmsford Crown Court heard

A teenager who showed off his machete on Snapchat has been sentenced to 14 months in a young offender institution.

Jack Shorter, 19, raised suspicions by wearing a coat and face covering on a "hot summer's day" in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, in August 2022.

Police officers searched Shorter, who was then aged 17, and found cocaine, heroin and a machete hidden nearby.

The defendant, from Sudbury, Suffolk, pleaded guilty to three possession offences and was jailed earlier.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard he had previously posted a video of himself brandishing the machete on the image-sharing platform Snapchat.

Shorter was near to Clacton Leisure Centre when he was searched by the police

Huda Musa, prosecuting, said the weapon was found hidden in a bush when Shorter was stopped and searched near Clacton Leisure Centre on 9 August.

"It was said to be a hot summer's day. He was seen by officers to be wearing a large coat and had his face covered," she said.

Police recovered quantities of both crack cocaine and heroin during the search before they discovered the blade.

'Hostile'

Shorter, of Richard Burn Way, Sudbury, was taken to custody where he told officers he "had been selling drugs since the age of 11".

He admitted possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin, and possession of a weapon in public.

Judge Alexander Mills said the offending was "fundamentally serious" and heightened by the "hostile" attitude Shorter showed towards the probation service.

"You posing with those weapons makes it clear you knew full well what you were involved with," he said.

Katherine Higgs, mitigating, said her client started selling drugs from a young age because he wanted to buy himself items his peers at school could afford but he could not.

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