Courts / Dublin / Report

Suspended sentence for Dublin father over cannabis possession

Date
2016-01-25

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

John Behan, a 40‑year‑old father from Drimnagh, pleaded guilty in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possessing 830 grammes of cannabis, valued at a potential €16,600, found in his former Landon Road home in Ballyfermot on 21 September 2014. He had previously lost his job and claimed the drugs were for personal use and to sell if he faced financial hardship. Garda Michael McNulty, who led the search, noted that the cannabis was in six containers in a shed and a bin at the front of the house. Judge Melanie Greally accepted that the street value might have been somewhat in excess of the actual worth, considered Behan's lack of further offences and his new employment at Intel, and imposed a four‑year suspended sentence, suspended for three years, with no custodial time required. The court also acknowledged that the operation was "not the most professional" and that the drugs were "substandard.".

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Suspended sentence for Dublin father over cannabis possession. Charges or matters: possessing 830 grammes of cannabis worth a potential €16,600 at his former Landon Road home in Ballyfermot on September 21, 2014. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

September 21, 2014 Incident
2016-01-25 Publication

Case subjects

John Behan

Defendant

Charges: possessing 830 grammes of cannabis worth a potential €16,600 at his former Landon Road home in Ballyfermot on September 21, 2014 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: She added that custody was not necessary in this case and suspended the four year sentence for three years.