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Stud farm owner jailed for supervising cannabis grow house
Summary
John Kelly, 36, of Cherrywood Villas, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to cultivating cannabis at a derelict farmyard in Johnstown Kennedy, Rathcoole, on 26 November 2018. He was found supervising a grow house that contained three tents with 140 cannabis plants and saplings, valued at €60,000 for sentencing purposes. Kelly has 89 prior convictions, mainly for traffic offences, and previously served a seven‑year sentence for drug possession and a term for endangerment. Garda Donal Donoghue reported that Kelly's suspicious electricity bill led to a search warrant and the discovery of the grow operation. The court, noting mitigating factors such as his guilty plea and his legitimate stud‑farm business, sentenced him to two and a half years' imprisonment, suspending the final six months of a three‑year term on condition of continued engagement with the Probation Service to address his addiction. The sentence was back‑dated to 17 May of the previous year.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Stud farm owner jailed for supervising cannabis grow house. Charges or matters: cultivation of cannabis at Old Farm Yard, Johnstown Kennedy, Rathcoole, Co Dublin on November 26, 2018. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- November 26, 2018 Incident
- May 17 Other
- 2023-02-27 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: cultivation of cannabis at Old Farm Yard, Johnstown Kennedy, Rathcoole, Co Dublin on November 26, 2018 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Kelly has also served a prison sentence for an offence of endangerment.
Places mentioned
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