Waterford man given chance by court was found with drugs three days before final hearing
Waterford Courthouse.
A man who failed to pay a donation to the court poor box has been given a suspended sentence at Waterford District Court.
Jake O’Neill (29) of 19 Carrigea Crescent, Kilbarry, Waterford pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of drugs and two counts of possession of drugs with the intention to sell or supply on dates in 2021 and 2024.
The court was told that on June 17, 2021, the defendant was found in possession of €3,200 worth of cannabis with the intention to sell or supply.
When the case went to court, the judge ordered the defendant to pay €1,000 to the court poor box by a certain date.
But three days before the final court hearing, on September 14, 2024, the defendant was found with €436 worth of cocaine in Poleberry.
The court was told that the defendant had three previous convictions, and while none were under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, two were for drug driving.
Judge Fiona Brennan asked if the €1,000 would be “forthcoming”, to which his solicitor said yes, but the defendant needed more time to raise it.
Acting for the defendant, the solicitor said that his client had developed an addiction problem with cocaine and that he had held the cannabis as part of the payment of a debt.
Following the 2024 incident, the defendant moved to Cork, where he “regrouped”, detoxed and was now substance-free.
He no longer associates with his previous peer group and is working full-time in a garage in Cork.
The solicitor said that the man’s employer is fully aware of his history and wrote a reference for him to take to court.
In that reference, he said the defendant had “changed completely,” was “focused and reliable” and was “genuinely turning his life around”.
Judge Brennan said this was a serious offence for which the defendant had been given an “extraordinary opportunity”.
The judge said she accepted that some time had passed since then, but the defendant has still not made the donation and “it simply cannot work both ways”.
On the original 2021 charge, the judge fined the defendant €600 and gave him six months to pay.
She said that on the more recent sale and supply charge, the court had to “mark the escalation of the transgression”.
Judge Brennan sentenced him to five months in prison, but suspended it for a year.
She took the possession charge into consideration and approved a destruction order for the drugs.
