CHRISTMAS came early for one young Galway man who escaped a serious criminal conviction despite being found with substantial amounts of cocaine in his possession and facing a charge of having the drug for sale or supply.
Judge John Brennan heard a detailed plea for leniency when the case came before him at Galway District Court. Garda evidence was presented outlining how the defendant was observed acting suspiciously in the Oranmore area and following a search was found to have cocaine to the value of €1,862 in his pocket.
A follow-up search of his home uncovered cocaine valued at €1,918 and a tick-list, a term often used to describe lists that keep track of drugs deals and credit. In total cocaine worth €3,780 was seized by detectives.
Olivia Traynor solr (defending ) pleaded that her client had never taken illegal drugs and didn’t lead “a flash lifestyle”. He got involved when a friend was put under pressure by certain people and her client stepped in to help him out.
She said it was hard to believe the naivety that would have put him in this situation. He was 19 at the time and a hard-working man whose parents were shocked and mortified by the situation he found himself in. None of the family had ever any interaction with the Gardaí or “darkened the door of the Court” before, she said.
Ms Traynor pointed out that the investigating Gardaí accepted her client acted for the reasons outlined and this was confirmed to the Judge by the prosecuting Garda Sgt who said he “was not on the drugs unit radar.” He had not come to Garda attention in the two years since his arrest, it was also confirmed.
Judge Brennan said he accepted the defendant didn’t have an issue with drugs, so ordering a Probation report at this stage would be a waste of time and serve no useful purpose. However, he added these were serious charges and this was every parent’s worst nightmare.
The amounts involved and the “tick-box” indicated that he was clearly involved in a substantial way. However, he said the defendant was a well-reared young man and had proper values inculcated in him by his parents who were in Court to support him.
He was accepting that this was the result of a “once-off difficulty” and the prosecution had been hanging over him for two years and that in itself was stressful. Because of the mitigating circumstances he said he would apply the Probation Act which meant he would not have a criminal record, but he warned the defendant that the Gardaí would have the details on file if he should reoffend.
