Two-week taste of prison a ‘frightening experience’

An apprentice electrician who was caught with €17,400 worth of cocaine in his car “like it was a bag of sweets” after Gardaí saw his passenger publicly urinating beside the vehicle, has escaped a custodial sentence.

Joseph Kelly (23), with an address at Clonown, Athlone, appeared before a sitting of Mullingar Circuit Court, where he was sentenced by Judge Kenneth Connolly for having the “audacity” and “impunity” to carry such a “vast quantity” of drugs in his car.

He was initially charged with possession of drugs over the value of €13,000 for sale or supply, but the state opted not to prosecute on that charge. On July 8, 2025, he entered a guilty plea to the lesser charge of possession of drugs for sale or supply. A third charge of possession of cocaine was taken into consideration.

Judge Connolly previously heard evidence of how, on February 10, 2023, in Athlone, Mr Kelly was the driver of a Volkswagen Golf, when he was approached by Gardaí because his passenger was publicly urinating beside the vehicle.

A drugs search was carried out and, as he was exiting the car, he threw away a package containing a small amount of cocaine (1g). A search was conducted of the vehicle and Gardaí discovered 48g of cocaine with a total value of €17,400 - “a vast sum of drugs by any standard”, said Judge Connolly.

“The car was somewhat strewn with the remnants of drug taking, such as empty wrappings. They were utterly ambivalent to the fact they were perpetrating serious offending,” he added.

“He continued to disgrace himself by offering no assistance to Gardaí. Most worrying - and something I’ll be keeping this in the back of my mind if I ever see him again - was the fact he refused to give Gardaí the PIN for his phone. That is a telltale sign he had something he didn’t want Gardaí to see.

“This story that you were holding these drugs for someone else simply doesn’t cut the mustard for me.”

After hearing the initial evidence, Judge Connolly remanded Mr Kelly in custody for two weeks to await sentence. When he reappeared before the court, his counsel, John Shortt SC, asked him how he found his taste of prison.

“It was a very frightening experience. It was an eye opener into prison life and it’s somewhere I don’t want to be,” Mr Kelly said.

Judge Connolly noted that “this is a very poignant example of how someone who presented as utterly pro-social had an undercurrent that reveals a very anti-social element”.

“I say, regrettably, every day in this court that drugs are an absolute scourge on society. Perhaps you get away with it for a while but, as you can see, it doesn’t last,” he said, referring to “the audacity and seeming impunity to drive around with that much cocaine like it was a bag of sweets.”

He stressed to Mr Kelly that he was “lucky” the state had chosen not to prosecute on the more serious charge.

“He comes from a very decent family. This is disgraceful behaviour and you should hang your head in shame,” said Judge Connolly to the defendant.

He set a headline sentence of five years and nine months, but reduced that to four years after taking into account such mitigating factors as a plea of guilt, a lack of previous convictions and the fact that Mr Kelly has not come to subsequent adverse Garda attention.

“It seems he may have been a courier. I’m not convinced. He alleges - and again I take this with a pinch of salt - that he was beholden to deliver these drugs to another address to pay off a debt. But he chose to act in the manner in which he did,” said Judge Connolly.

He also noted a positive probation report, pro-social interests such as involvement in sports, and the fact he has an excellent work history and is doing an apprenticeship to become an electrician.

Mr Kelly attends counselling weekly, has had clear urine analysis on four occasions he was tested between July and October, and a number of positive testimonials - one of which described him as “a fine young man”.

“Well, I wonder how fine of a young man he’ll think you are when he hears all this,” Judge Connolly remarked of that testimonial.

Imposing a sentence of four years, he opted to suspend the entire unserved portion for five years, noting two weeks had been spent in custody.

“I’ll suspend the entire balance - which is a very unusual step for me to take - because of his attitude to his rehabilitation and the fact he has no previous or subsequent convictions,” he said, adding that “if he gets in any trouble, he’ll be right back here and will serve the four years.”

Conditions attached to that suspension include that he enter into an own bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a period of five years, continue with addiction counselling until the counsellor is satisfied he can be discharged, and remain abstinent from all controlled drugs.

He also imposed an ancillary driving disqualification of six months. However, he postponed that disqualification to January 1, 2026, at 12 noon.

“There must be a deterrent element. If a young man of 20 years old is driving around with such impunity to have €17,400 worth of cocaine in his car, then he shouldn’t be driving,” he concluded.

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