A LEGAL executive from Marldon has been jailed after he became a drug dealer and supplier a mind altering substance which led to the drowning of a 16-year-old.
Andrew Hodges supplied a friend of Compton teenager Nathan Wood with a designer drug known as N-Bomb, who gave it to him shortly before he stripped naked and jumped into the River Dart.
He was found with stocks of the hallucinogenic drug along with ecstasy and LSD, ketamine and cannabis when police traced him.
He had drugs hidden in a false plug socket, a list of hiding places in a notebook concealed behind a microwave, and a notes listing his customers inside the false cover of a book.
Hodges, with family ties in Totnes, bought drugs on the dark web and had them delivered to a post office box to cover up what he was doing. He also used a ’dirty’ phone for all his dealing and changed the Sim card regularly to avoid detection.
He was already on a suspended sentence when he supplied the drugs which led to Nathan’s death and carried on dealing despite the tragedy and the police raid that followed it.
Nathan, aged 16, was a former KEVICs student who died in the River Dart at Dartington in August 2016, after going out for a walk with a group of teenaged friends.
One of them had bought the N-Bomb, also known as N-bome, from Hodges and offered some to his friend, who went into the river and vanished after stripping naked.
The friend returned the rest of the drugs to Hodges after Nathan had gone missing but before his body was found and he was unruffled and told him he was sure the boy would turn up okay.
Hodges took a law degree at Exeter before working as a legal executive at a firm of solicitors in Plymouth, handling property conveyancing.
He had used ecstasy (MDMA) since his student days and when he was made redundant in 2012, he turned to dealing, going to raves, festivals and parties to sell drugs.
Hodges admitted two counts of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply, one of attempted possession with intent to supply, one of being concerned in the supply of class A, and four of simple possession.
He was jailed for a total of eight years and seven months by Recorder Mr Jonathan Barnes at Exeter Crown Court.
He told him:"I have been told the drugs supplied by you might be implicated in the very sad death of a young man, Nathan Wood, who was only 16. You have not been charged with any offences relating to his death, which is not relevant in the direct sense.
"The fact is the trade in these filthy substances results from time to time in tragic deaths such as that of Nathan Wood. I express my sympathy for the family for their very sad loss."
Mr Joss Ticehurst, prosecuting, said Hodges home was raided by police who were investigating Nathan’s death and found he had supplied drugs to a friend, who had given them to the 16-year-old.
Hodges sold drugs to youths, party and festival goers and regular customers using a so-called dirty or burn phone.
He was convicted of dealing similar drugs in 2015 and was on a suspended sentence at the time of Nathan’s death and the raid on his home later that month. A package of drugs which he had ordered on the dark web was actually delivered during the raid.
He carried on supplying drugs despite being arrested and given bail, but now had them delivered to a PO box, where he picked them up.
A package was found by police after Hodges was arrested again in January and a second turned up a few days later.
Mr Ticehurst said:"Hodges is not charged with any offence relating to Nathan’s death but it forms the background to the police investigation. It shows his awareness of what drug supply can did and can do to those who consume drugs."
Mr Lee Bremridge, defending, said Hodges lived a law abiding life until he lost his job as a conveyancing executive in 2012.
He was a university graduate who had done a legal practice course in Exeter before working for a firm of solicitors in Plymouth for 13 years.
He had lived in Totnes for many years and was a carer for his mother, who has been diagnosed with cancer. He himself suffered from anxiety and depression.
At the time of Nathan’s death his family described him as "full of life and loving", and his mother Mandi Retter said the tragedy had "screwed up our lives forever".
His brother Daniel said: "He did love people so much. He couldn’t express it enough. Everyone that knew him thought he was funny."
His grandmother, Margaret Retter, added: "The last time I saw him it was just wonderful. I was coming up the path last weekend and he just leaned out the bedroom window shouting ’Hi Grandma’.
"He was just full of life and loving, it was a lovely memory."