Man sentenced for €970 of cannabis

A man found in possession of €970 worth of cannabis has been given a four month suspended sentence.

Peter Heeney, Beechwood Drive was charged with possession of drugs for sale or supply after he was found with the large quantity of cannabis.

Heeney was also charged with possession of drugs arising out of an incident on November 21st, 2017 at Tesco when he was found with a single, hand rolled cigarette containing cannabis.

The 35-year-old was further charged with public order offences arising out of an incident at Beechwood Drive on June 1st, 2018 at 1.35am. The court heard gardaí were on patrol when they found Heeney acting in an abusive and insulting manner.

Defence solicitor Barry Callan said Heeney is a 35-year-old man who has laboured with very significant drug and alcohol problems. He said Heeney also suffers with mental health issues. He has been attending the Red Door Project in Drogheda and is due to take up a place on St Francis’s Farm in Carlow in the next couple of weeks, said Mr Callan.

He said Heeney appreciates the charges are very serious, especially the Section 15 offence of possession of drugs for sale or supply, but asked the judge to deal as leniently as she could with him. ‘ The Probation Report is very positive and he has been engaging with the services,’ he said.

Judge Eirinn McKiernan praised Heeney’s efforts but said this was a very serious matter. Mr Callan said Heeney and his friends had pooled their money to buy the cannabis so although it was a significant amount it was to share amongst them. He said his friends at the time would also have had significant difficulty with drugs and would have been using significant quantities themselves.

Judge McKiernan said she wanted to hear what the arresting garda’s opinion was on the matter given the seriousness of the offence.

Detective Garda Murphy agreed Heeney did say the drugs were for his own use and that of his friends but added there was a message found on Heeney’s phone which suggested otherwise. ‘Having said that he was extremely co-operative and was going through some difficult times and he hasn’t come to any attention since,’ he said. After hearing the evidence, Judge McKiernan said she would impose a four month suspended sentence subject to the defendant entering into a probation bond and engaging with the probation services.