Father of seven avoids jail term for having cannabis for sale or supply

By Declan Brennan

A father of seven has received a fully suspended prison sentence for possession of cannabis for sale or supply.

Stephen Casey (39) of Brookview Drive, Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of drugs at his home on December 12, 2019.

Garda Padraig Rowan told Fionnuala O’Sullivan BL, prosecuting, that on that day gardaí went to Casey’s home to execute a search warrant.

Casey wasn’t there but his family were and during the search, gardai found a number of kilo bars of cannabis resin in a shed.

The court heard that the estimated street value of the drugs was €44,000.

They also found baggies and a weighing scales.

Four days later, Casey went to a garda station and took full responsibility for the items found and said that he had built up a drug debt from cocaine use.

Casey told gardai said he had agreed to take the drugs and separate it into bags but he didn’t realise the value of them.

His previous convictions include possession of drugs for personal use and cultivation of cannabis.

Defending counsel, Kathleen Noctor SC, told Judge Martin Nolan that her client began abusing cocaine as a way of coping after he and his partner lost a child at birth.

She said that Casey was a good father and that jailing him for even a short time would have a very very negative effect on his family.

She handed in a testimonial from a social worker which detailed the difficulties encountered by his family, the court heard.

Judge Nolan said this testimonial was very impressive and that it seemed the family had particularly exceptional circumstances.

He suspended a prison term of three and a half years.