The Court of Appeal has suspended a one-year prison sentence imposed on Aaron Maunsell for possessing heroin for sale or supply after finding that his rehabilitation justified giving him a chance to remain out of custody.
Maunsell was arrested following a vehicle stop on March 1, 2010. He was later searched at Ballyfermot Garda Station and found with two packages containing heroin.
The drugs had an estimated street value of €1,904.40 if divided into €20 bags. Maunsell told Gardaí he had paid €400 for them and admitted that he would sell some to people who called. The prosecution accepted that he was at the lower end of the drug-distribution chain and that the heroin had been bought mainly for his own use, with some intended for sale to friends who were also addicts.
Maunsell had 17 previous convictions. Two convictions from 2009 involved possession and possession for sale or supply under the Misuse of Drugs Act, for which he had received eight months in prison.
The Dublin Circuit Court imposed a 12-month custodial sentence, principally because this was his second section 15 drug offence.
The Court of Appeal found that the sentencing judge had been entitled to regard the offence seriously but had not given sufficient practical effect to the evidence of rehabilitation.
Maunsell had completed 12 months of a residential programme with Victory Outreach, had made enough progress to begin helping other people with addiction, had not come to Garda attention during that period and had rebuilt relationships with his family, partner and young child.
The appeal court held that those circumstances gave the Circuit Court scope to refrain from immediate imprisonment.
After receiving an update, the court noted a subsequent relapse described by counsel as a "slip", but said the overall pattern remained one of significant progress. It also considered the substantial period Maunsell had already spent at liberty.
The one-year sentence was therefore suspended on condition that he enter a €100 bond to keep the peace for two years.