A teenager who supplied MDMA to young people, including a 16-year-old schoolgirl who died, was “greedy” for money, a judge has heard.
Lucy Hill, 16, from Exmouth, Devon, died in December 2022 after taking MDMA and collapsing at the Move nightclub on Exeter Quay.
James Greaves, 19, of Hatt, Cornwall, and Taylor Rowsell, 18, of Rosebery Road, Exmouth, were convicted at Exeter Crown Court on Monday for their roles in supplying the drugs.
The court heard Greaves supplied the MDMA tablets – also known as ecstasy – to Rowsell, who sold them to people attending a youth night at the club, where no alcohol was served.
Rowsell made around £350 from selling the pills to the partygoers, including Lucy and her friends.
Rowsell and Greaves were aged 16 and 17 respectively at the time of the offenses and previously admitted supplying Class A drugs.
Judge James Adkin jailed Greaves for three and a half years in a young offenders institution, while Rowsell received a two-year prison sentence.
Passing sentence, the judge said Rowsell had raised concerns about the dosages in the tablets but was still selling drugs to children, calling him ‘greedy’.
Taylor Rowsell was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court (Devon and Cornwall Police/PA)
He said: ‘Your involvement was born of immaturity, yes, to some extent, but you got yourself into a drug trade for the status and money.
“This was not a one-off, you had been dealing for months, you were selling to children.
‘Lucy Hill died because you sold her medicine, you sold her two tablets despite the fact that you were concerned about the dosage.
“It seems to me that you were simply greedy, and that your love for money outweighed your concern for any customer.”
Judge Adkin described Greaves as a ‘wholesaler’, who made the drug capsules for others to sell on the street.
He said Greaves had played a “leading role” in “organising, buying and selling (of drugs) on a commercial scale” and that he knew Rowsell was selling drugs to children.
James Greaves was sentenced to three and a half years in a young offenders institution (Devon and Cornwall Police/PA)
“You knew Rowsell was buying drugs to sell to children, text messages show that,” he said.
“The additional aggravating feature is obvious: the drug you supplied killed a 16-year-old girl.”
In her victim’s personal statement, Debbie Hill, Lucy’s mother, described the loss of her daughter as “devastating”.
“Our lives are now completely changed forever,” she said. “We lost our beautiful little girl. It’s just devastating for all of us, for Chloe, her sister, for her father Chris.
“What happened has left the biggest hole in my heart that I know will never heal.
“Lucy was the most kind and caring person, and so gentle. I cling to the memories of her.
‘I will never be able to give her a hug again, never be able to ask her how her day was, how school was that day. Everything was just taken from us and I can never be a part of her life again.
Lucy’s sister Chloe said in her personal statement about the victim: ‘No day gets easier and the pain never goes away. I would do anything to have Lucy by my side again.
“Life is so hard without Lucy. I lost my best friend. My heart aches and the loss never leaves my thoughts. I miss doing everything with you.”
She addressed the drug dealers and said she would have to live the rest of her life without her sister because of the decisions they made.
“Not only did your actions and decisions take Lucy from this world, but you also robbed me of my life. A life without Lucy by my side.”
Lucy attended Exmouth Community College, where she said she would be “dearly missed”.
In an earlier tribute, the council said: “Lucy was a kind, thoughtful beautiful person. She was much loved by her colleagues and the staff who knew her well.
“She was always smiling and caring for others, and many of her friends benefited from her loyalty and caring.
“She was smart, hardworking and well motivated.
“She will be greatly missed, but has left us all with fond memories of the lovely person she was.”
Senior investigating officer, Detective Constable Sally Johns, said Lucy’s family were devastated by their loss, with officers from Devon and Cornwall supporting them throughout the investigation.
She said: “Lucy was not a routine drug user, she was just a young girl starting out in life and looking forward to the future ahead of her.
“That night, an error of judgment in the young minds led to Lucy’s future being so tragically cut short. This can be the case for anyone’s child or young adult.
“We have seen that these substances can be fatal many times over, and this is another tragic case.
“You don’t know what illegal drugs contain or what reaction you will have to them – but it can be fatal. I urge anyone considering using drugs to think twice and reconsider.”