Courts / Dublin / Report

Suspended sentence for mum-of-five who stored €150k in heroin

Date
2019-05-28
Stage
Sentence
Primary locality
Dublin
County
Dublin

Summary

Michelle Geoghegan, a mother of five from Rathgael, Deansrath, Clondalkin, was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to a five‑year suspended prison term for possession for sale or supply of heroin and cocaine. The judge, Melanie Greally, noted that Geoghegan was in a state of acute depression and had been under "considerable pressure" from others who wanted her to store, prepare and package drugs in her home. She pleaded guilty on 27 February last year. Gardaí had searched her home in February, finding over €145,000 worth of heroin in a locked safe and €3,548 of cocaine in a Centra bag, with a total street value of €149,484. The judge set a headline sentence of seven and a half years but, after credit for her early guilty plea, difficult childhood, long‑standing addiction and efforts to address her drug problem, imposed a suspended sentence.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Suspended sentence for mum-of-five who stored €150k in heroin. Charges or matters: possession for sale or supply of the drugs at her home on February 27 last year. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

Case subjects

Michelle Geoghegan

Defendant

Charges: possession for sale or supply of the drugs at her home on February 27 last year (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Michelle Geoghegan was handed a five-year suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, after a judge ruled that a non-custodial penalty was justified. Judge Greally set a headline sentence of seven and a half years' imprisonment but gave Geoghegan credit for her very early guilty plea, her difficult childhood and her "longstanding and entrenched" drug addiction.

Places mentioned

Court Venue
  • Dublin
  • Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
Residence

Topics

Drugs Stage Sentence

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