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Judge expresses surprise that having empty firearm cartridges is a crime

Summary

In a Dublin Circuit Court hearing, Judge Martin Nolan expressed surprise that possession of empty firearm cartridges was a criminal offence. He sentenced 26‑year‑old Paul Honer to a three‑month suspended sentence for unlawful possession of blank ammunition. Honer admitted keeping the cartridges in a red box under a fish tank in his bedroom; he claimed they were given to him by his father before the father's death ten years earlier. Garda Thomas Wafer discovered the shells during a search of Honer's house on 26 March 2016. Honer, who had previously pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of firearm ammunition, was arrested for the offence while already serving a four‑and‑a‑half‑year sentence for a firearms offence. Judge Nolan noted that many people in rural areas possess spent shells and that he would not sentence someone to imprisonment unless the state proved sinister intent.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Judge expresses surprise that having empty firearm cartridges is a crime. Charges or matters: unlawful possession of firearm ammunition. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• March 26, 2016 Incident
• 2017-07-29 Publication

Case subjects

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Read the original CNI report