Three people who conspired to invent a story about a drug dealer’s ‘pregnant partner’ in a bid to secure him a lighter prison sentence have themselves been sentenced for perverting the course of justice. Swindon Crown Court heard how Gavin Quinn, 30, hatched the plan while on remand after being arrested by Wiltshire Police on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs. Quinn conspired with David Hewitt, 41, and Andi Chittell-Gilholm, 34, to falsely claim that Chittell-Gilholm was Quinn’s partner and carrying his unborn child. In reality, the pair had never met. The court heard Chittell-Gilholm, who was genuinely pregnant at the time, had been promised £500 by Hewitt to pose as Quinn’s partner and describe the impact a prison sentence would have on her and the unborn baby. She ultimately received just £50. The deception was uncovered by police before Quinn appeared at Swindon Crown Court in August 2025, where he was jailed for 32 months after being convicted of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs. The attempted deception had no impact on the sentence imposed. At a separate hearing at Salisbury Crown Court on Friday 10 July, all three admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Quinn, of Weston-super-Mare, was sentenced to a further 10 months’ imprisonment, while Hewitt, of Portishead, received eight months in prison. Chittell-Gilholm, from Portbury, Somerset, was handed a four-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. Detective Constable Charlie Forster, of Wiltshire Police, said: “This was a deliberate attempt to present the court with false information in order to attempt to reduce the sentence given to Quinn. “This is a serious matter, and it is right that they have faced the consequences of conspiring to pervert the course of justice in this way.” Wiltshire Police said the case demonstrates the seriousness with which the courts treat attempts to interfere with the justice system and the consequences for those who seek to mislead judicial proceedings.
