Galway Bay fm newsroom – A Tuam man who was buying heroin in a Dublin flat to sell to his friends back home when gardaí raided it has received a suspended jail sentence.
Gardaí accepted that David Doherty was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” and he was simply in the flat to buy the €905 worth of heroin.
He told gardaí he came to Dublin to spend €325 on heroin, some of which he would use and the rest he would “sell to his mates in Tuam”.
28 year old David Doherty of Ballinamona Park, Tuam, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of heroin on North Circular Road for sale or supply, on June 27, 2013.
He has 49 previous convictions which were mainly for road traffic offences.
His co-accused, 36 year old Stephen Lunders previously of Rathmines Road Lower, pleaded guilty to the same charge in the same place.
He has 28 previous convictions which included drug offences
Judge Mary Ellen Ring suspended a sentence of two and a half years for Doherty on condition that he keeps the peace and continues to attend Tuam Community Training Centre.
She said he has made significant progress in dealing with his heroin addiction.
Doherty has charges pending at Galway Circuit Criminal Court for allegedly possessing €15,000 worth of heroin for sale or supply at a hotel in Galway City on March 14, 2014.
Lunders took full responsibility for the majority of the drugs which were found in the Dublin flat and had a total value of €14,383.
He claimed he had been dealing to help pay off a drug debt his now deceased brother had run up.
Judge Ring imposed a three year jail term on Lunders but suspended the last 18 months.
Garda Seamus Donoghue said the flat was raided by gardaí following a tip off. Doherty was searched and 6 grammes of heroin was found on him.
He said he had been in the flat for less than 15 minutes and had no idea how much drugs were in the house
Gda Donoghue agreed with the defence team that Doherty was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” and he was only responsible for the heroin found on him.
Counsel said David Doherty is no longer taking heroin and is stable now on methadone. He is still unemployed but he is minding his children while his partner is taking part in a FÁS course.
