Woman avoids jail after allowing €14,000 worth of drugs to be stored in her home

By Claire Henry

A Dublin mother of three has been spared jail for allowing her home to be used to store €14k worth of drugs.

Garda David O’Reilly told Fiona McGowan, BL, prosecuting, that gardaí had obtained a search warrant for the home of Wendy Dempsey (32) of Tyrone Place, Inchicore, Dublin 8.

The court heard that gardaí gained entry to the property. Dempsey and her partner Patrick Kearns were at home, and a search of the property took place.

Gardai found just over €11k worth of cocaine in the downstairs toilet bowl, and just over €3k worth of heroin was also found in plain sight in the apartment.

The court heard that Kearns was arrested and questioned.

He admitted that the drugs found in the property were his and that his partner had nothing to do with the drugs found in the apartment.

Garda O’Reilly told the court that Dempsey presented to the garda station for interview on the following day.

She was charged with allowing her home to be used to store illegal substances.

The court heard that some of the drugs were found in plain sight along with a weighing scales, and therefore it would be impossible for Dempsey not to be aware of the drugs.

Judge Martin Nolan said he “believes that this woman does not deserve a custodial sentence.

“She has offered a plea which is valuable to the court. She has no relevant record and has responsibilities to her children”.

Judge Nolan sentenced her to eighteen months in prison but suspended it in full on the condition that she keep the peace and be of good behaviour for eighteen months.

Judge Nolan told Dempsey: “I am giving you one chance in this court and that a second chance won’t be given”.