Grantham drug dealer Nik Strautmanis jailed after admitting dealing Class A crack cocaine and police assaults

A man who admitted dealing in Class A drugs and spitting at three police officers was today (Friday) jailed for two years and ten months.

Niks Strautmanis, 22, of London Road, Grantham, admitted three charges of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply others when he appeared at Lincoln Crown Court.

All the charges occurred on May 3 this year and relate to crack cocaine, cocaine and heroin.

Strautmanis also pleaded guilty to assaulting three police officers on the same date.

Tony Stafford, prosecuting, said the incidents occured after police carried out a search warrant at an address in The Grove, Grantham, on May 3.

Mr Stafford said Strautmanis was present along with his younger brother, Maris Strautmanis, 18, and two women.

The court heard Niks Strautmanis barricaded himself in a bedroom while his younger brother tried to flush a large package containing white powder down the toilet.

Niks Strautmanis also spat at three police officers during his arrest and detention, and Maris Strautmanis admitted throwing toilet water at one of the officers.

Mr Stafford said police found a drugs cutting and packaging operation in the dining room along with cash, dealer bags and weighing scales.

The court was told Niks Strautmanis had served a previous sentence for attempted robbery.

Anna Soubry, mitigating for Niks Strautmanis, said he had completed a number of courses while on remand in prison.

But Miss Soubry added Niks Strautmanis was realistic and accepted it was only a question of how long his jail sentence would be.

"This is a chance to turn his life around," Miss Soubry told the court. "This is his first foray into supplying Class A drugs."

Passing sentence Judge Simon Hirst told Niks Strautmanis: "In the dining room was effectively a production line."

Judge Hirst said it was also an aggravating feature that he had involved his younger brother.

Maris Strautmanis also pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply others and one offence of assaulting a police officer.

He was sentenced to a youth rehabilitation order for two years and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Mr Stafford also offered no evidence against two Grantham women who were also charged during the investigation.

They are Shanelle Watt, 19, of London Road, Grantham, and Sigita Fridenberga, 39, of The Grove, Grantham.