Ford Estate man caught smoking Cannabis by undercover Police in Mowbray Park

A Sunderland man has been handed a conditional discharge after undercover police officers spotted him smoking cannabis in a city centre park.

Ryan Lewis, 28, was seen sitting with three other men in Mowbray Park at around 10am on 10 June, when officers on bicycles witnessed the group passing a cannabis joint between them.

One of the men ran off as police approached, but Lewis and two others stayed at the scene. A search recovered a cannabis grinder from one man and a partially-smoked joint from another.

Lewis, of Portrush Road in Ford Estate, admitted possessing cannabis — his first criminal conviction — but magistrates heard he had previously received a police caution for the same offence in 2023, ruling out another out-of-court disposal.

Appearing before South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, Lewis represented himself and offered no mitigation when asked if he wished to address the court.

District Judge Zoe Passfield imposed a six-month conditional discharge, along with £85 in court costs and a £26 victim surcharge.

She told him: “You have no previous convictions and have pleaded guilty, which goes in your favour. But if you return to court, this offence will be taken into account and dealt with differently.”