The Court of Appeal has quashed an 11-year sentence imposed on Patrick O’Donovan for possessing drugs worth €13,000 or more and resentenced him to eight years’ imprisonment, with the final three years suspended for four years subject to conditions.
O’Donovan had pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court in June 2015 to possessing drugs contrary to section 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act. The Court of Appeal said the offence involved one kilogramme of cocaine, which gardaí valued at about €70,000. O’Donovan admitted possession and told gardaí he was acting as a courier for a €2,000 fee.
The appeal concerned the sentence, not the conviction. O’Donovan argued that the sentencing judge had not properly assessed the offence’s gravity, had misapplied mitigating factors and had given insufficient weight to his lack of previous convictions. He also disputed the valuation based on the drugs’ cocaine purity and argued that his decision to abscond while on bail should not increase his sentence.
The appeal court said the sentencing judge had been entitled to find exceptional and specific circumstances that justified going below the statutory 10-year minimum. It pointed to O’Donovan’s late guilty plea, his admission and cooperation after arrest, his status as a first-time offender, and his role as a courier without a proprietary interest in the drugs. The sentencing judge accepted that fear explained why he did not name others involved.
The court also found an error in treating the absconding as a reason to add a “premium” to the sentence. It said absconding after the offence should not be treated as an aggravating factor when calculating the sentence, although it may reduce the extent of any discount for mitigating circumstances. O’Donovan had left Ireland after being charged and bailed, was arrested in Spain in May 2015 under a European Arrest Warrant, and voluntarily agreed to return.
The Court of Appeal assessed the offence as in the middle range of gravity and set a starting sentence of eight years. It suspended the final three years, taking account of the mitigating circumstances and O’Donovan’s educational and other achievements in prison. The revised sentence replaces the original 11-year term, of which four years had been suspended.