A LIMERICK man who stored drugs for criminals to pay off his own drugs debt, has walked free from court after getting a fully suspended two and half year jail sentence.
Thomas Quinn, (41), Pineview Gardens, Moyross, was in debt to drug dealers for a cocaine habit, and he was directed to store thousands of Xanax tablets at his home, Limerick Circuit Court heard.
Prosecution counsel, John O’Sullivan BL, told Quinn’s sentencing hearing that the father of two took collection of four socks containing €8,000 worth of Xanax tablets.
It was the third time Quinn had collected drugs and each time he did so he had €200 wiped off his cocaine debt.
Quinn who the court heard spends his time tending to horses, is in receipt of a job seekers allowance of €185p/wk.
He pleaded guilty to possession of the tablets and possession of the tablets for sale and supply.
Gardaí obtained a warrant at Limerick District Court on February 15, 2022, and used it to search Quinn’s home where they found the 4,000 Xanax tablets.
Gardaí told the court they accepted Quinn, a father of two, was addicted to cocaine, and that he was vulnerable to drugs dealers.
Quinn had 14 previous convictions between 2002 and 2012, including possession of drugs and possession of drugs for sale or supply, for which he received a nine-month jail sentence.
Quinn’s barrister, Junior Counsel Amy Nix, said the defendant had no trappings of wealth associated with drug dealing, and that Quinn “had €30 leftover at the end of every week after paying bills”.
Ms Nix argued that Quinn “feared for his own life” from the criminals he was holding the drugs for, and that he was “not actively dealing drugs”.
“He found himself in a dark hole and was vulnerable to senior drug dealers, and he is doing much better,” Ms Nix said.
Asking the court not to impose an immediate jail sentence, Ms Nix said Quinn’s arrest and return before the courts had given him “a significant fright”.
“It’s make or break for him (Quinn) now, he is at a crossroads,” Ms Nix added.
Judge Dermot Sheehan said he considered that a headline sentence was one of four years, which he reduced to two and half years, which he fully suspended.
“I’m willing to take a chance on Mr Quinn, he has children and they have done well in their lives, and he has spent a long period of time away from crime,” Judge Sheehan said.
