(Pictured: Gerard Cleary. Credit: Collins)

A man who bought heroin for his mother regularly when he was just a child of 10 will be sentenced next month for possessing cocaine worth almost €139,000.

Father-of-one Gerard Cleary (33) pleaded guilty to possessing nearly two kilos of cocaine for sale or supply outside his house at Shon Valley Apartments, The Grange, Lucan, Co Dublin on August 8, 2017.

At his sentence hearing today, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Cleary had agreed to hold the drugs under pressure from a third party, in order to repay a debt accrued through his own cocaine use.

The court ….read more

A man who produced an imitation firearm in a pub beer garden will be sentenced later this year.

Later the same day Charles Schlaubitz (45) also produced a second imitation firearm at a pharmacy during an interaction with staff about toiletries he had purchased but mistakenly left behind.

Schlaubitz, who is bi-polar and has manic depression, later told gardaí he was having “a bad run of things” and had gone too far. He was intoxicated and unfit to be interviewed after his arrest.

Schlaubitz, with an address at Blessington Street, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of imitation ….read more

A mentally ill woman who tried to force children off trams because she believed they were in danger has been found not guilty of attempted abduction by reason of insanity.

Theresa Chennaux (49), who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, later told gardaí she was trying to protect the children from a paedophile. She “ranted” illogically during garda interviews and accused gardaí of being vampires and sucking the blood of children.

Ms Chennaux, formerly of Tonlegee Ave, Coolock, Dublin and currently in the Central Mental Hospital, had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to attempting to take ….read more

By Brion Hoban

A convicted killer caught in possession of almost €250,000 of “poor man’s cocaine” has received a four-year sentence.

Christopher Geraghty (48) of Oldtown, Santry, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of control substances for sale or supply.

Judge Karen O’Connor sentenced Geraghty to four years imprisonment with the final 24 months suspended.

He was jailed for ten years in 2005 for the manslaughter of 54-year-old Anthony Jordan.

Gardaí searched Geraghty’s residence in Santry on October 15, 2014 and discovered several packages containing white powder.

The gardaí asked Geraghty if there were more drugs in the house. He told them ….read more

By Brion Hoban

A woman who put a flaming piece of paper through a letterbox due to a dispute about bins has received a partly suspended sentence.

The court heard Gillian Philip (36) was recognised by children in the house who managed to quench the fire with water. The hall carpet was scorched but the children were not injured.

Philip, formerly of Mac Uilliam Green, Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to damaging her neighbour’s property with fire on October 21st 2015. She has been in custody since January 2017. She will reside with her father in Co Cork ….read more

By Declan Brennan and Fiona Ferguson

A supermarket security guard who was caught with nearly €10,000 worth of cannabis and cocaine has been ordered to perform 240 hours of community service in lieu of a prison sentence.

Joseph Moore (30) told gardaí that the drugs found at his father’s home were for his own use. The drugs found by gardaí during a planned search of the house consisted of cocaine with an estimated street value of €7,735 and an estimated €2,142 in cannabis herb.

The court previously heard that Moore came from a decent hard working family and his father was a retired ….read more

(Pictured: Tom Humphries. Credit: Collins)

A once highly-respected sports journalist has admitted grooming a teenage girl by sending her thousands of sexually explicit text messages before going on to meet her for sexual acts.

Tom Humphries (54) of Corr Castle, Sutton, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to four counts of inviting a child to participate in a sexually explicit, obscene or indecent act between January 2010 and March 2011.

He also pleaded guilty to two counts of defilement of the child at a place in Dublin between December 5, 2010 and February 19, 2011.

The court heard that Humphries made contact ….read more

A grandfather who was caught with equipment for making fake documents, including driver licenses and motor tax discs told gardaí he would have it all replaced “in a week”.

Gardaí found several items at the home of Gregory Kearns (44) including a fake €50 note, fake bank statements, a fake drivers licence, and fake motor tax disc. They also found scanners, laminators and a vehicle registration plate maker.

Gold and silver foil, a harp stamp, laminate strips and a circular cardboard template for making motor tax disc were among the items discovered in the attic of Kearns’ home, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court ….read more

A man who threatened to kill hotel staff who found cannabis in his room has avoided jail.

Keith Byrne (32), who has 44 previous convictions, made threats to staff members at the time and told them: “I have a barrister on speed dial.” He has since completed a rehabilitation program.

Byrne, of Ballyogan Lawn, Ballyogan, Carrickmines, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of cannabis herb valued at €300 and making threats to kill or cause serious harm to staff at Bewleys Hotel, Sandyford on February 15, 2014.

Judge Melanie Greally said Byrne had engaged in extremely violent conduct towards ….read more

By Aoife Nic Ardghail and Isabel Hayes

A Louth man who had sex with a 15-year-old schoolgirl and made plans to run away with her to Northern Ireland has been jailed for two years.

The man (29), who can’t be named for legal reasons, told the girl he could get her a fake passport and said she would have to dye her hair and live under an assumed name if she wanted to stay with him.

The girl later told gardaí that she had consensual sex once with the then 25-year-old man as they stayed at various hotel accommodations over a few nights ….read more