Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
EX-SOCCER ACE GUILTY OF HAVING FAKE PREM JERSEYS & CIGARETTES
Doherty, 46, ‘must move to avoid jail’
A FORMER professional footballer caught with tens of thousands of euro worth of fake soccer jerseys must move to the Republic to avoid a possible jail sentence.
Kevin Doherty had pleaded guilty to a number of charges when he appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court in Co Donegal.
It followed a Garda raid on the 46-year-old’s home in the county in which a haul of hundreds of items were found in the garden shed on June 11, 2019.
Among the items seized was almost €50,000 worth of cigarettes and tobacco as well as hundreds of pairs of fake Nike and Vans trainers.
There were also dozens of replica jerseys and other fake clothing including Ralph Lauren, Adidas, New Balance, Nike, Fred Perry and Gym King.
When quizzed by gardai, Doherty initially claimed he didn’t have a key for the shed and that he was just storing them for somebody else.
However, he later admitted he was supplied with cigarettes and tobacco in exchange for holding the fake goods and that he was in debt to the owner of the goods due to a gambling addiction.
The court was told the goods were being sold from a makeshift cabin in the Galliagh area of Co Derry.
Doherty pleaded guilty to keeping for sale or delivery-specified tobacco products without the appropriate tax stamp contrary to the Finance Act of 2005.
The accused, with an address at Fern Park in Derry, also pleaded guilty to the fraudulent application or use of trade mark in relation to goods contrary to Section 92 of the Trade Marks Act 1996.
Evidence of the raid was given by Det Gda Joe English. The court was told there had been a delay in the case as gardai had to contact a number of Premiership football clubs to establish if the goods were fake.
Barrister Gareth Mcgrory outlined his client’s circumstances saying his father had died three years ago and this had had a huge impact on his life as they were very close.
Doherty had played professional football in England with a number of clubs including Southampton from the age of 17 until he was 21 but had returned to Derry and worked in a several local firms including Seagate.
He had suffered from a gambling addiction since he was 24 and admitted to using alcohol to excess but didn’t dabble in drugs and had issues with mental health for which he had been prescribed anti-anxiety medication.
Mr Mcgrory said his client was physically able to work and suggested he could move from Derry to an address in Donegal and complete any community service programme the court may order instead of imposing a custodial sentence.
The court was told the tariff for the offences was up to five years in jail or a fine of €126,000.
Passing sentence Judge John Aylmer said both offences were at the lower end of the scale for such cases but which merited a prison sentence of 18 months before mitigation.
However, he said there was an early guilty plea and that he had suffered from a gambling addiction and anxiety and that merited a reduction to 12 months.
Judge Aylmer said he could consider imposing a community service order but because Doherty lived in Derry he was not in a position to order this.
Instead, he adjourned the case until October saying if Doherty found an address in the Republic then he proposed an order of 240 hours community service.