Today in court

By Brion Hoban and Sonya McLean

A father-of-three who agreed to store over €320,000 of illegal drugs in his bedroom in exchange for payment of €50 has been sentenced to four years in prison with the final 18 months suspended.

David Fox (51), of Croftwood Crescent, Ballyfermot, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of cannabis and cocaine for sale or supply at his address on November 5, 2016.

Detective Garda Michael McNulty told Garret Baker BL, prosecuting, at a sentence hearing last May, that on the date in question gardaí searched the address on foot of a warrant and discovered a large cardboard box on the floor beside the accused's bed.

The box contained 6.92kg of cannabis and 2.59kg of cocaine. The total combined value of the drugs is €320,313.

Det Gda McNulty said that Fox initially indicated that one of his three daughters residing in the house was responsible for the drugs and that she seemed to go along with it out of loyalty. Fox later accepted sole responsibility for holding the drugs.

The accused told gardaí he was short on money and had agreed to hold the drugs for one night in exchange for payment of €50. He said he does not have a drug debt and does not owe anyone else money.

Fox has no previous convictions. The court heard he has split from his partner and went through a long custody battle for care of his two youngest daughters.

Det Gda McNulty agreed with Michael Lynn SC, defending, that he would not dispute the suggestion that Fox was unaware of the value of the drugs. He said he found it hard to believe Fox only received €50 in exchange for holding them, but said he had no way of disproving it.

Judge Melanie Greally commented that in some ways it almost seemed worse that one would involve oneself in criminal behaviour for only €50. She had previously adjourned the matter pending the completion of a psychological assessment.

Today she accepted that this report concluded that Fox has “low cognitive functioning” and is a particularly “suggestible and vulnerable person”.

She accepted that the drugs were only in his care for one night and he had not profited in “a significant way for his role”.

Judge Greally said a “custodial sentence was unavoidable” considering “the level of drugs involved, the fact that he was carrying out an invaluable service for housing the drugs and that he was doing it for financial reward”.

She gave him credit for his plea of guilty and his lack of previous convictions before Judge Greally suspended the last 18 months of a four year term.

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By Isabel Hayes and Sonya McLean

A carer who stole €41,000 of inheritance money from a grieving pensioner whose sons were shot dead has been given a suspended sentence on condition that she pay back the victim in full.

In Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today, Judge Melanie Greally gave Laura Pennick (33) a three-year suspended sentence on condition that she continue putting aside €100 a week to repay Marie McNally the stolen inheritance money.

A total of €20,500 has already been paid over and it is estimated that it will take Pennick a further four years to fully rereimburse the woman.

The judge said she was prepared to give Pennick extra time after Derek Cooney BL, prosecuting, submitted that Ms McNally wanted all of her money back.

In November 2016, Judge Greally put the matter back so that Pennick could save €100 a week for her victim.

At that sentence hearing, Ms McNally jumped to her feet to ask Judge Greally for permission to speak, saying she was “bursting to say something”.

“She took advantage of me when my sons were shot,” Ms McNally told the court. “She robbed me of every penny I had. She took that money from me when I was sick. She's a liar.”

Mother-of-two Pennick, with an address in Bride Street, Dublin, pleaded guilty to thefts totalling €41,935 from Ms McNally between January 2010 and December 2012.

The court previously heard that Pennick befriended Ms McNally when she was living two doors away from her in Finglas. Ms McNally's two sons had been killed and she was in ill health at the time.

Ms McNally’s son, Alan, was shot dead in the Cappagh Nua pub in Finglas in 2012, three years after his older brother Graham was killed.

Pennick became Ms McNally's “unofficial carer” and started collecting her pension and paying her bills. She had access to Ms McNally's ATM cards and two bank accounts, including one which contained Ms McNally's inheritance from the sale of her late mother's house.

Garda Colin Rourke said Pennick made a number of withdrawals ranging from “very small amounts up to €600”. She spent the money on home improvements, fashion purchases, home furnishings, home appliances and holidays, he said.

When questioned by gardaí following Ms McNally's discovery of the loss, Pennick said she had financial worries of her own and needed to do it. Damien Colgan SC, defending, said Pennick owed money at the time to “individuals” who made “real threats” against her.

She has 29 previous convictions including five for theft. One of these involved the theft of €1,000 from her previous employer, JD Sports.