Cork man who stayed out of trouble and addressed a gambling addiction has sentence suspended on appeal 

A six-month spell in jail will be avoided by a young man caught with a cocaine stash more than two years ago as it emerged that he has not been in trouble in the two years since and was never in difficulty before.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin agreed at Cork Circuit Appeals Court to suspend the six-month jail term that had been imposed on the accused at Cork District Court.

26-year-old Daniel McCarthy of Nutley Avenue, Mahon, Cork, also engaged with the probation service and is in full time employment.

The defendant also addressed a gambling difficulty that he had at the time.

The accused had tried to hide his stash of cocaine out on his bedroom windowsill when gardaí called for a search.

Sergeant John Kelleher gave the judge a summary of the original matter. Gardaí with a search warrant found €3,800 worth of cocaine and drugs paraphernalia on the defendant’s bedroom windowsill.

Sergeant Kelleher said that gardaí obtained a warrant to search a house at Nutley Avenue, Mahon, Cork, and arrived there on April 6 2019 for that purpose.

In the course of the search they found a bag on the outside windowsill of Daniel McCarthy’s bedroom.

In the bag there was cocaine, an electronic weighing scales, a bowl and teaspoon, and an iPhone. All of this property was seized and the cocaine was analysed and found to have a street value of €3,800.

Daniel McCarthy pleaded guilty to charges of possessing cocaine and having the drug for the purpose of sale or supply to others.