Man jailed for role in collecting “drug debt”

By Eimear Dodd

A man took it upon himself to collect money owed as part of a drug debt from two families after five men called to his door, a court has heard.

Patrick McGregor (39) told gardai that he had been put in fear after five men had called to his home and threatened to burn his house down in relation to a drugs debt owed by his son and others.

He said he took it upon himself to collect the money, and in a letter to the court, accepted he had gone about this in the “wrong way” and was “deeply ashamed” of his behaviour.

McGregor of Dunard Avenue, Blackhorse Avenue, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to four counts of demanding money with menaces from two addresses in North Dublin on dates in November and December 2024.

He further pleaded guilty to the theft of a Ring doorbell and acquiring €5,000, knowing it to be the proceeds of crime. McGregor also entered a guilty plea to a charge of having in his possession a heavy-duty stun gun without a valid firearms certificate at his address on February 5 last.

McGregor was jailed for six years.

The court heard the background to this offending included the son of the first injured party, who is an associate of McGregor’s son.  His car was damaged in early October 2024.

The following month, the father got a notification on his Ring doorbell app of a person at the door, who he found to be menacing. The father became aware of the son’s drug debt, and €5,000 cash was paid to the same person who had been seen at the Ring doorbell.

In mid-December, the injured party was out of the jurisdiction when he got another notification on his Ring doorbell at 11.56 pm.

He opened the app and saw a male, later identified as McGregor. He was wearing a dark jacket, a face covering with a logo of a gun on it and also had a tattoo of ‘DAD’ on his left hand.

McGregor interacted with the man, telling him he wanted the rest of the money or “the whole lot of you are out of the house”.

He told the injured party he had 24 hours to pay, making further demands, which the injured party interpreted as threats to burn them out of the house.

Several days later, two males on an e-bike arrived at the house, and one took the Ring doorbell.

The court heard that while the Ring doorbell was taken, the homeowners had earlier installed an updated CCTV system.

The charge of acquiring €5,000, being the proceeds of crime, relates to the amount paid by this injured party, the court was told.

A victim impact statement was handed to the court from this family and not read aloud. They have since moved from the area.

In relation to the second family, McGregor called to their address in early December and again, through a video doorbell, said a brother of the injured party owed money.

He told this person that people had called at his house. He added that he “didn’t want to send lads over”, but someone needed to contact a third party.

In late December, this injured party was asleep when the Ring doorbell activated at 2.15 am. Two males were in the front garden.

One spoke into the doorbell, saying, “You better pay your f***ing bills, or I’ll burn your house down”.

This family did not wish to provide a victim impact statement; the court was told.

McGregor was identified by gardai and his home searched on February 5 last. During the search, a black taser gun in working order was found in a cabin at the rear of the address and was seized, along with other items.

McGregor was arrested and made admissions during his interview.  He admitted he was the person making demands for money and identified himself on CCTV.

He accepted he had put these families in fear, apologised, but said he “didn’t care if they were terrified”.

McGregor has 101 previous convictions, primarily for road traffic offences.

The investigating garda agreed with Ciaran O’Loughlin SC, defending that many of his client’s convictions are historic.

A letter of apology from McGregor was read to the court. He said there was a lot of shock and upset in his family when they became aware of his son’s drug debt, and he took it upon himself to collect the money.

McGregor said he approached it in the “wrong way”, was “deeply ashamed” of his behaviour, which he stressed was out of character and offered a “most sincere apology” to all concerned.

A large number of family members were in court to support McGregor, who has seven children.

Mr O’Loughlin said a local community activist wished to speak on McGregor’s behalf to outline how he was a help to others with drug addiction, having himself had issues as a younger man.

Judge Nolan said he accepted this and did not need to hear from the community activist.

McGregor has been in custody since his arrest, works as a scaffolder and has an offer of work upon his release.

Mr O’Loughlin asked the court to take into account his client’s early guilty plea and the contents of the testimonials handed in. He noted that the criminal activity involved in acquiring €5,000 was his client’s own.

Judge Nolan said the purpose of these damages was to repay a drug debt, which “places an insidious tint on these crimes”.

The judge said these demands were “very credible” and the families “took them very seriously”.

“The threats were expressed and implicit. It seems both families were of the view that McGregor, probably with others, intended to damage property and burn them out”,

The judge said the court accepted McGregor’s motivation was the “trouble his son got himself into” and it was an “understatement” to say that he took a “misguided course”.

Judge Nolan said this was a “huge misjudgement”, noting that these demands caused trauma and fear to the injured parties.

The judge set a global headline sentence of nine years, which he reduced to six years, having considered the mitigation.

The sentence was backdated to when McGregor went into custody.