Second chance for Cork man caught dealing cocaine
Plainclothes gardaí on duty at Soho bar in Cork city overheard two men discuss buying cocaine before following the duo and seeing one of them get into a car to buy the drug.
The driver of the car was later arrested after being caught selling €450 worth of cocaine.
Shane Hickey, of 42 St Joseph’s View, Riverstown, Co Cork, confessed to a drug-dealing offence and got a total jail term of seven months.
Nikki O’Sullivan, defending, appealed the sentence yesterday on the basis that the accused had gotten himself clean of drugs since he was caught in June 2017.
An aggravating factor in the case was that the 32-year-old had another drug-dealing conviction that dated back 10 years.
Judge Gerard O’Brien said he was very concerned about the fact that the conviction in 2009 did not cause the accused to sober up and get clear of drugs then. However, the judge said at Cork Circuit Appeals Court he would suspend the seven-month sentence for the 2017 offence.
The judge said the only reason he was giving Hickey a chance was because he had cleaned himself up in relation to drugs.
Sergeant Gearóid Davis said that on June 4, 2017, plainclothes gardaí in Soho on Grand Parade, Cork, heard two men talk about buying cocaine. The officers followed them to Washington St, where one of them sat into a car driven by Hickey and bought four bags of cocaine with a street value of €450. Hickey pleaded guilty to having cocaine for sale or supply.
Ms O’Sullivan said the appellant spent the following two months in rehabilitation and stayed clear of drugs since that time.
The barrister said the 32-year-old’s life had stabilised since this period and he was now back living at home.
