A mum of three caught dismantling her boyfriend's cannabis farm claimed she didn't know it was in her spare bedroom.
Danielle Sabatini ran downstairs with cannabis stuck to her trousers when police arrived at her family's home in West Derby.
Officers had earlier arrested her partner Ross Bracken, who was driving while high on cocaine with £1,340 in cash in his car.
Bracken, 36, said he was growing the crop to pay for stem cell treatment for his 16-year-old son, who has epilepsy.
He was locked up after he also smashed into a couple's car - causing serious injuries - during a 130mph motorway chase.
But 34-year-old Sabatini was spared jail after a judge heard she was now caring for their children alone during lockdown.
Liverpool Crown Court heard officers saw Bracken driving a Volkswagen Golf at "high speed" on Oak Lane North in Croxteth, at around 12.40pm, on August 30 last year.
They stopped him on Pinewood Avenue and found him "fidgeting" next to the cash and a Nokia phone in the centre console.
Louise Santamera, prosecuting, said "extremely nervous" Bracken tested positive for cocaine in a roadside test.
He later agreed to provide blood for analysis but complained to a nurse that it hurt and withdrew consent, leading to a conviction for failing to provide a sample.
He told officers he lived with his partner and any drugs at their home were his, before refusing to provide the PIN for the Nokia.
He later claimed the £1,340 was money he borrowed from his brother to buy his partner and daughter birthday presents.
Ms Santamera said police went to their home in Tewkesbury Close and discovered "the remnants of a cannabis farm".
She said: "The front door was open and there were noises coming from inside. Officers could hear shouts and muffled voices.
"Then Danielle Sabatini was observed coming running down the stairs with cannabis stuck to her trousers and she appeared to be very nervous.
"Two others who were present were also arrested but they were not charged - that was her mother and a family friend."
There was a large amount of "smell proof bags" and 139g of cannabis, with an estimated street value between £1,386 and £2,075.
Sabatini said Bracken had sole access to the bedroom where the farm was, but she suspected he smoked cannabis in there.
Ms Santamera said: "She claimed that when he didn't return home she found the key to the room, discovered the cannabis grow and started to dismantle it, because she didn't want anything to do with it."
Sabatini, of previous good character, abandoned her claims when she later pleaded guilty to knowingly permitting production of cannabis on her premises.
Bracken, who has 17 convictions for 29 offences, admitted producing cannabis and possessing the drug with intent to supply.
He also admitted dangerous driving and failing to stop after a crash when he injured grandparents David and Elizabeth Riddell.
Police indicated Bracken should stop his Golf when he was travelling southbound on the M6, at around 2.30pm, on March 14.
But he weaved across all four lanes, reaching 130mph, before losing control after he exited onto a slip road joining the A54 to Macclesfield.
Dashcam footage showed he shot through a red light and smashed into the side of a Range Rover Evoque, sending it onto a grass verge.
Bracken and a passenger climbed out of the Golf, removed two black holdalls from the car, then fled in different directions.
Police found a bundle of bank notes totalling £5,000, Bracken's iPhone and Sabatini's bank card in the car.
Bracken's brother Tomas Bracken reported the Golf stolen later that day, but Bracken's DNA was found on the driver's airbag.
Ms Santamera said Mr Riddell "suffered serious injuries" including an abdominal hemorrhage and spent two days in hospital.
Mrs Riddell suffered bruising and swelling to an ankle, which was trapped in the car, and three months later still struggled to walk.
She said her husband was very quiet after the crash and she feared he would die, while Mr Riddell recalled being in the most severe pain of his life.
Bracken's record includes twice driving while disqualified in 2004, violent disorder in 2007, dangerous driving in 2008 and producing cannabis in 2017.
Tom Watson, defending Bracken, who has been in custody for six months, said his client's "stupidity" had "harmed the people that he most cares about".
The court heard Sabatini was left caring for their four-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter, plus Bracken's eldest son, who has severe learning difficulties and epilepsy, which can cause 40 fits a day.
Mr Watson said this left Sabatini - who cried in the dock - on the verge of asking for her step-son to be taken into care, but she hadn't done that and Bracken was fortunate that she stood by him.
He said Bracken's crimes were largely motivated "to finance things his son needed, such as cannabis oil, and possibly very much money for stem cell treatment, which would have been in Panama".
Mr Watson said Bracken apologised to the victims of his "appalling" driving and had fled from police because he had taken cocaine.
Gary Lawrenson, defending Sabatini, said she suffered from two "severe bouts of post natal depression" when her two children were born and her mental state contributed to her offending.
He said she was a full time primary carer and despite how "traumatic and sometimes overwhelming" that was, she feared jail and was "dreading being parted from those three children".
Mr Lawrenson said she was assessed as posing a low risk of re-conviction and had a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.
He said: "Your honour, she doesn't have time frankly does she to be committing any more offences - her responsibilities are too great."
Judge Anil Murray said Bracken had a "commercial cannabis grow" motivated by financial gain and his driving showed "a deliberate disregard for public safety".
He noted that Bracken recognised he had let his family down, adding: "You have done that - you've left your partner on her own in difficult circumstances with children to look after, all because of your selfish criminal offending."
Sabatini sobbed as the judge jailed her partner for two years and two months.
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