DPP appeal allowed over Warren Bowen’s suspended drugs sentence

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

The Court of Appeal allowed the Director of Public Prosecutions’ appeal against Warren Bowen’s sentence on grounds of undue leniency. Mr. Justice Edwards delivered the judgment on 1 May 2015.

Bowen initially faced three drug-possession charges under sections 15A, 15 and 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. The case concerned events at Cappacasheen, Kinvara, Co Galway, on 19 October 2011.

He initially pleaded not guilty on arraignment. On 7 December 2012, he was re-arraigned and pleaded guilty to the section 15A count, which the DPP accepted. Following a sentencing hearing on 27 February 2013, the sentencing judge adjourned the case for a year and directed that an updated probation report be obtained.

On 27 February 2014, Bowen received four years’ imprisonment, suspended for four years on a €100 bond to keep the peace for that period. He was also disqualified from holding a driving licence for two years.

The DPP accepted that the sentencing judge could find it unjust to impose the presumptive ten-year minimum, but argued that insufficient weight had been given to the seriousness of the offending and excessive weight to mitigation.

The appeal court accepted a seven-year starting point before mitigation. It recognised substantial mitigation, including Bowen’s guilty plea, previous good character, remorse, cooperation, rehabilitation, low risk of reoffending, work record, worthwhile activities, drug-free status and absence of adverse attention since arrest.

However, it found no particularly exceptional circumstances justifying a wholly suspended sentence and concluded that mitigation had received excessive weight. The four-year suspended sentence was to be set aside and replaced by an appropriate sentence.

This case may have concluded differently. The outcome has not yet been confirmed by a public source we could find.