Ex-Accrington Player Jailed Over Class A Drug & Counterfeit Money Possession
A professional footballer has been handed a 16-month prison sentence after being found in possession of class A drugs during Glastonbury festival in June.
Paddy Lacey, who used to play for Accrington Stanley, was charged with - and pleaded guilty to - two counts of possessing a controlled substance and passing on an item that he knew to be counterfeit.
The Accrington Observer reported that Lacey, who was sacked by the League Two club in May after testing positive for cocaine, was arrested on day two of the world famous festival and will now spend time behind bars for his crimes.
The 24-year-old was found with 20.3g of cocaine, 16.8g of MDMA and £520 in counterfeit £20 notes on him during Glastonbury and was sentenced to jail after a hearing at Bristol Crown Court on 21st July.
Lacey saw his Accrington contract torn up a month before this incident following a positive test for cocaine taken after the club's encounter with Hartlepool United in November 2016.
The Football Association also slapped Lacey with a 14-month ban for breaching anti-doping regulations, although his lawyer had tried to argue that taking the substance was "not intentional" on his client's part even though it came in the midst of a marathon nine-hour drinking session.
Accrington chairman Andy Holt expressed his shock at the latest revelation and ruling, and called on Lacey to turn his life around after he is released from prison next year.
He said: “It’s a real shame, he was a really promising player for us and I was really disappointed when he tested positive after Hartlepool. We gave him his chance in the Football League, he was a tough central midfielder and we really liked him.
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“He’s made a big mistake and he’s paying the price. I wish it wasn’t true. He had the chance to do really well and it’s sad that he’s thrown that away at such a young age. I do hope it’s the last mistake he makes.”
Lacey began his career at Sheffield Wednesday as a youth product, before heading off to Bradford City in 2011.
A series of loan spells at lower league clubs and a couple of free transfer moves came before his eventual switch to Accrington, where he made 17 appearances before his ban came into effect.
