Ex League of Ireland ace avoids jail after coke found in car
A FORMER League of Ireland footballer caught with €1,000 worth of cocaine in his car has been spared a jail sentence for drug dealing.
Jake Walker (23), from Clondalkin but with a current address at Tor na Ri, Balgaddy, Dublin, was fined €750 yesterday.
Walker was a Bray Wanderers striker when gardai arrested him on November 30 last, but he has since lost his contract.
Gardai charged him with unlawful possession of cocaine and having it for sale or supply at Shancastle Lawns, Clondalkin, on November 30. He pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court in December, and the case was adjourned until yesterday for a probation report.
Judge Treasa Kelly heard gardai stopped Walker driving a 2013-reg Volkswagen Golf.
Garda Joseph Melvin noticed a “strong smell of cannabis from the vehicle” and questioned Walker, who admitted he had something on him.
The court heard there were “six deals of cocaine, three large bags and three small,” which he had in his trousers, and he was arrested and brought to a Garda station. He also had €500 on him at the time of arrest, which was forfeited.
The court heard he had two minor Road Traffic Act convictions and has not come to further Garda attention.
Defence solicitor Damien Coffey said the accused became a semi-professional footballer after completing the Leaving Certificate.
The solicitor provided the court with a letter from Walker’s doctor showing his client had sought help for his mental health.
Mr Coffey explained that when Walker, who did not address the court, was just 15, his father was murdered in a shooting in Crumlin.
It had been a genuine case of mistaken identity, and his dad was not involved in any criminality.
“His father was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” the solicitor said, adding it had a significant impact on Walker, who reached out earlier this year for help from support services.
Mr Coffey also urged the judge to consider his client’s tragic circumstances and his immediate guilty plea. The defence had not required the usual forensic report or Garda evidence.
Judge Kelly remarked that it was drug dealing, a serious matter. She recorded a conviction but said it did not warrant a custodial sentence.