Ecstasy dealer jailed for 15 months after supplying the drug that killed his 16-year-old girlfriend
A drug dealer who supplied the ecstasy which killed his 16-year-old girlfriend has been sent to prison for 15 months. Lennix Hughes died after ‘bombing’ the Class A drug which had been given to her by 18-year-old Jay Conway. Conway, now 21, wept as he was jailed at Dundee Sheriff Court for supplying the drug on the night the schoolgirl became fatally ill in 2023. The apprentice plumber also admitted peddling Class B cannabis for more than two months. Conway’s operation included encrypted phones and negotiating discount prices for bulk buying cannabis, the sheriff noted during sentencing.
Case details and sentencing verdict
The first offender, who has a new partner and child, pleaded guilty to dealing ecstasy between March 3 and 4, 2023. He also admitted dealing cannabis between January 1 and March 4, 2023. The court heard Miss Hughes died after ingesting wraps of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, which had been given to her by Conway at his home. Paramedics fought desperately to save her but she was pronounced dead after being taken to Ninewells Hospital. A police raid on Conway’s home showed he was actively involved in the distribution of cannabis, with £200 in cash, scales and grinders all seized from the outbuilding where he was living. He bought 3.5g of MDMA in powdered form and – using street slang – invited friends over for a ‘Mandy session’. Conway and a friend were ‘bombing’ MDMA by wrapping the powder in cigarette paper and swallowing it. Lennix with Jay Fiscal depute Alistair McDermid said Miss Hughes arrived at around 2.10am and she made herself a number of ‘bombs’. But she became ‘manifestly unwell’. She had a locked jaw and began convulsing for a short time ‘before she stopped breathing’. A post-mortem examination revealed a ‘high quantity’ of MDMA and other substances were in her system at the time of her death. Four wraps were found in her stomach. Cyber crime officers analysed Conway’s two mobile phones, which showed images of cannabis and evidence of negotiations for a wholesale deal and arrangements for drop-offs. Sheriff Niven-Smith told Conway that Miss Hughes had been ‘vulnerable’ and said: ‘As a matter of public record I am not sentencing you for culpable homicide, nor for culpable and reckless conduct. I must not allow the tragic death of Lennix Hughes to influence my decision on sentencing here as that would be to err in law.’ Solicitor Ali Short, defending, said: ‘This was a horrible end to what he was doing. It was a way to make money for when he wanted to have a good time. He was doing it and thinking it wasn’t hurting anybody. It is very sad that is what happened to stop it. He has to live with the guilt of that.’ In October 2023, Miss Hughes’ mother Wendy Bertie described the Grove Academy pupil as ‘the most loving and caring girl’.
