A man found in possession of almost €260,000 worth of cannabis at his rental address has been jailed for five years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Gerald O’Donnell (45) pleaded guilty to possessing the drug, in herb and resin form, at his home in Dun Emer Place, Lusk, Co Dublin, on May 13th, 2021.
The court heard it was “not a usual case” in that O’Donnell did not have addiction issues and had worked hard all his life until he became ill in 2009.
Patrick Gageby SC, defending, said O’Donnell was forced to give up work because he suffered from ankylosing spondylitis, causing spinal pain.
“Dealing drugs meant he wasn’t dependent on anyone. But this isn’t the usual way people come into dealing,” said Mr Gageby.
Passing sentence on Wednesday, Judge Orla Crowe initially set a headline sentence of seven years, but reduced this to five years on account of the mitigating factors.
Judge Crowe noted that O’Donnell had pleaded early, had given information to the gardaí and had no previous convictions bar a minor driving offence.
The judge also accepted that O’Donnell was a good father and suffered from a medical condition. However, she said O’Donnell had nonetheless been drug dealing “for gain, at a wholesale level”.
Garda Shaun McElroy told Garrett McCormack BL, prosecuting, that gardaí got a search warrant after receiving confidential information that cannabis was to be found at a certain address.
Strong smell
Gardaí noticed a strong smell of cannabis from outside the house. The owner of the house in Lusk let them in, and O’Donnell came downstairs from a bedroom and cooperated straight away, showing gardaí where the drugs were stored.
Gardaí seized 12.5kg of cannabis herb valued at €250,000 and a further 1.4kg of resin worth €8,000. They also recovered €5,195 in cash, which was the proceeds of crime.
The court heard that O’Donnell told gardaí about his life and how he had become involved in drug dealing. He also surrendered his bail and entered an early guilty plea.
Mr Gageby said O’Donnell had been married with three children but that in the past couple of years, the relationship had broken down, and he had lost his home.
The court heard that the loss of his job as a manufacturing technician, combined with his ill health, caused O’Donnell great physical and mental strain.
Counsel said O’Donnell took over home tasks and minding the children when he had to give up work, and when he left the home, he continued to see the children and lived close by so they could stay over.
A letter from O’Donnell’s ex-wife described him as a caring and adored father who was central to his three children’s lives. She said they had all been impacted by his arrest, detention, and charging.
The court heard that O’Donnell had never been on the garda radar before this offence and has not come to adverse attention since.
“He was a stable member of society, worked hard in good jobs, then the disease took hold. His relationship foundered,” counsel said.
O’Donnell has one previous conviction for a driving offence last year.
Judge Orla Crowe backdated the sentence to May 3rd, when O’Donnell went into custody.
