Enniscorthy men found with drugs in their home

QUANTITIES OF COCAINE AND CANNABIS FOUND BY GARDAI

A PAIR of defendants were ordered at Gorey District Court last week to do community service, after quantities of cocaine and cannabis were found at their home.

Keith Freeman, (21), of 13 Redmond Street, Enniscorthy, faced two charges of possession of drugs for sale or supply, and two drugs possession charges, after his home was searched on January 6 last. Cannabis worth €440 and cocaine worth €270 were found. He had no previous convictions. Solicitor John O’Leary said that he received treatment as a teenager. Judge Haughton imposed 120 hours of community service in lieu of five months in prison.

Raymond Freeman, (35), of the same address, faced one charge of possession of drugs for sale or supply, and one of drugs possession, at his home on January 6 last. Some €400 worth of cocaine was found during a search.

He also faced charges of driving without insurance or a licence, and failing to produce either on January 6, 2016, at Weafer Street, Enniscorthy. He had previous driving disqualifications.

His solicitor Niamh Moriarty said that her client is working full time. She added that he had no income at Christmas, and his ex-girlfriend was pregnant, and he saw this opportunity to make money. ‘He’s really embarrassed,’ she said. ‘He knows how stupid it was.’

She said that when he was seen driving, he was bringing his ex-partner to hospital as she was complaining of pains. He was disqualified at the time.

His ex-partner, Kelli-Ann Lambert, gave birth ten days later, three weeks early. She got into the witness box to confirm she had a routine check up and had experienced pain, so asked him to drive.

A reference from his employer, KDK Scaffolding was handed in. A contracts manager with the company, Darren Flynn, told the court he is a good employee who works hard.

‘He has never been involved in this sort of activity before,’ said Ms Moriarty.

Confirmation later came from gardaí that a woman was in the car when he was seen driving. ‘He deeply regrets his actions,’ said Ms Moriarty. ‘He is an extremely hard worker. He wants to keep moving on with his career and support his daughter.

For possession of drugs for sale or supply, Judge Haughton fined Raymond Freeman €250. For no insurance, he gave him the option of 150 hours of community service or five months in prison.

He also put him off the road for five years. The case was held over to November 9 for a community service suitability report.