A budding younger Donegal jockey who was caught with over €11,000 price of medication has averted being despatched to jail.
Gardaí discovered a big cache of hashish and cocaine after they raided the house of Oran Brown.
Brown, who’s now 22, was handed a three-and-a-half-year sentence, which was suspended by Decide John Aylmer for a three-and-a-half-year interval.
Mr Peter Nolan BL, representing Brown, informed Letterkenny Circuit Court docket his consumer was resulting from journey at Cheltenham this week and relies in England, the place he works for famend coach Richard Hannon.
Detective Garda Michelle Kelly informed Ms Fiona Crawford BL, counsel for the State, {that a} search warrant was obtained, following a confidential tip-off, to hold out a search of Brown’s residence at Coolatee, Lifford on June 25, 2020.
Gardai pounced at round 12.30pm and the accused man was a entrance seat passenger in a car parked outdoors the property. Brown got here into the home and informed gardai that there have been managed medicine inside.
Detective Garda Kelly stated officers detected a robust scent of hashish from a room and a big amount of medication was present in a number of places in the home.
In whole, detectives seized €8,668 price of hashish in addition to cocaine with a road worth of €2,504.81. A few of the hashish was present in ‘deal baggage’. A Zopiclone pill, valued at €2, was additionally positioned within the raid. The medicine had a mixed whole of €11,174.81.
A grinder, weighing scales and a amount of Ziploc baggage had been additionally discovered. Portions of Diazepam and Xanax had been present in a Tommy Hilfiger bag within the property whereas Gardaí noticed a line of suspected cocaine on high of a dresser.
A amount of cocaine was additionally discovered inside a secure which contained €7,225 and £2,480 sterling in money. Brown was searched and a cylinder containing hashish and a grinder was positioned on his particular person. He was subsequently arrested and brought to Letterkenny Garda Station.
Brown informed Gardaí that he was dwelling along with his grandparents for the reason that earlier Christmas and was working with an organization in Strabane.
He outlined that he ‘smoked lots of weed and sniffed cocaine’.
“I gained’t lie, I bought a number of baggage of weed too,” Brown informed detectives. Relating to the money, he stated he was given cash by his mother and father and grandparents for his birthday the earlier month.
Brown refused to present Gardaí the PIN for his cell phone as he stated there was ‘stuff on the telephone’ that he didn’t need them to see. Detective Garda Kelly stated Gardaí had been unable to entry knowledge from the telephone because the PIN was not offered.
Barrister for Brown, Mr Peter Nolan BL, stated that his consumer was accepted as an apprentice jockey however ‘weight acquired the higher of him’.
“He and others started taking cocaine to maintain the load stabilised,” Mr Nolan stated, including that British Horseracing now has common drug testing procedures in place.
The courtroom heard that Brown works in England and was described as a ‘conditional apprentice’. Mr Nolan stated Brown is now using beneath nationwide hunt guidelines, which have the next weight restrict for jockeys.
The barrister stated Brown had ‘nice hopes and ambitions’ to be a flat racing jockey. Having not been profitable as an apprentice, he returned to Donegal six months earlier than this offence and obtained a job as a joiner.
“He grew to become concerned in cocaine and that has introduced him to the place that he’s in,” Mr Nolan stated.
Brown, who was accompanied to courtroom by his mom, had no earlier convictions and has not come to adversarial consideration since.
A probation and welfare report deemed him as a low threat of reoffending and stated the incident had introduced ‘deep regret and disgrace’.
References had been handed in on Brown’s behalf from Fr Colm O’Doherty, the Parish Priest in Lifford, and the Lifford-based Naomh Padraig GAA Membership.
Asking the courtroom to be as lenient as potential and to contemplate a non-custodial sentence, Mr Nolan stated his consumer has ‘discovered a critical lesson’.
“Stupidity led him to those circumstances,” Mr Nolan stated.
Decide John Aylmer stated the worth of the medicine stash present in Brown’s residence was solely barely under the €13,000 threshold which carries a compulsory minimal sentence.
Decide Aylmer stated a place to begin for the possession of hashish for the aim of promoting or supplying was 5 years in jail,
“It was clear from all of the paraphernalia discovered on the premises that there was a major quantity of dealing happening,” Decide Aylmer stated. A two-year jail sentence was the place to begin for sentencing on the cost of the illegal possession of cocaine.
In mitigation, Decide Aylmer stated Browne is a younger man with no earlier convictions who’s ‘very positively’ engaged in horse racing. Brown confirmed Gardaí to varied places in the home the place medicine had been located and adopted with an early plea of responsible. He stated Brown has now eliminated himself from ‘anti-social acquaintances’ and took word of the references submitted on the accused’s behalf.
Decide Aylmer decreased the sentence for the possession of hashish for the aim of promoting or supplying to three-and-a-half years in jail. Everything of the sentence was suspended for three-and-a-half years on Brown coming into a bond to maintain the peace and be of fine behaviour for that interval.
Brown was ordered to do 240 hours of group service in lieu of 16 months in jail on the cost of illegal possession of cocaine.
“That is an uncommon case the place he deserves a second probability,” Decide Aylmer stated. “It’s with some hesitation, however it’s a case that it could be handled higher on a non-custodial foundation given all the options. “
Proficient younger jockey caught with €11,000 medicine stash avoids jail was final modified: October twenty sixth, 2023 by
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