Joshua Allen, the son of celebrity chef Rachel Allen, has withdrawn his appeal following his conviction last year for minor drugs possession.
The withdrawing of the appeal will potentially trigger a 15-month suspended sentence which he previously received for a more serious drugs conviction involving the possession of over €22,000 worth of cannabis for sale or supply.
Allen of Ballinamona, Shanagarry, Co Cork appeared at Midleton Court on Tuesday for the hearing of the State appeals list.
State solicitor John Brosnan said Allen had withdrawn his appeal of a two-month sentence imposed in September 2020 at Midleton District Court and was entering a guilty plea.
Allen’s solicitor Don Ryan confirmed this was the case but said his client still contests the severity of the sentence. Allen had been convicted of the possession of €280 of cocaine in Midleton, east Cork.
Judge Helen Boyle remanded the 21-year-old on continuing bail until his appearance before Cork Circuit Court in Cork city on May 20th.
Suspended sentence
This conviction could trigger the revocation of a partly suspended sentence he received in 2020 for arranging to have €22,000 worth of cannabis posted to himself.
Allen will find out in May whether he also faces a 15-month prison sentence for cannabis sale and supply for an offence dating back to 2018 which was before the Circuit Court in Cork in March 2020.
The minor drugs conviction last September was a “triggering offence” in relation to that conviction.
Allen had been expected to appeal the two-month sentence he received last year for possession of less than €300 of cocaine in east Cork.
Allen had pleaded not guilty to a charge that on July 10th, 2020 at the Pontoon, Midleton, Co Cork he had unlawfully in his possession a controlled drug, namely cocaine contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act.
In September 2021, Judge Alec Gabbett jailed Allen for two months having convicted him of the offence. Defence solicitor Don Ryan lodged an immediate appeal and bail was granted in the case.
Allen had been released from prison just over a month before the offence took place and his re-entry case will now be heard on May 20th at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
Allen has six previous convictions for drugs related offences all arising from a single incident two years ago.
Arrest
He had received a 15-month custodial sentence with 15 months suspended at Circuit Court level in 2020 after he pleaded guilty to possession of over €22,000 worth of cannabis for sale and supply.
He was arrested over three years ago after customs officers at Portlaoise Mail Centre became suspicious about a package addressed to Allen which had been mailed from the United States.
A 30-month sentence, with 15 months suspended, was imposed after he attended a residential treatment centre to address his drug use.
The case for which Allen received a two-month sentence in September 2021 involved an incident on July 10th, 2020 at the Pontoon in Midleton. He had entered a not guilty plea in relation to this offence and was protesting his innocence until the entry of a guilty plea on Tuesday.
At the hearing of the case last September, gardaí said Allen had thrown something into the bushes when he was approached on the Pontoon.
In evidence to the court, he vehemently denied throwing anything into the bushes when gardaí approached a group of youths following a noise complaint on the pier.
Allen insisted the garda who gave evidence had made a “mistake” and that he was not in possession of drugs.
