David Marsh jailed for deception and heroin possession

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

David Marsh was sentenced to a further 14 months in prison by Judge Martin Nolan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 9 February 2018. The proceedings were reported on 15 February 2018.

He pleaded guilty to six counts of deception and one count of theft from an Eir store in Rathfarnham, Dublin, between March and June 2016. He also pleaded guilty to possessing heroin for sale or supply at Mountjoy Prison on 18 September 2016.

The court heard that Marsh obtained €800 from a woman he met on a dating website, including by saying he needed money for medication and travel to see a specialist. Garda John Burke said Marsh persuaded another woman to give him €300 for a holiday and then told her he had to cancel it because he was sick.

The court heard that Marsh was caught with heroin worth €5,600 after he was jailed for earlier fraud offences. Marsh said another prisoner threatened him and told him to hold the drugs briefly. Defence barrister Leo Mulrooney said Marsh had been preyed upon by other prisoners and pressured into holding the drugs.

Marsh had 23 previous convictions, mostly for fraud-related offences. In July 2016, he had been jailed for two years for fraud offences.