A young father, who was on bail in relation to a seizure of 300,000 worth of cocaine when he ran into a Garda while driving a stolen motorcycle, has been jailed.
Christopher Reynolds (26) of Heatley Place, Malahide Road, Dublin 17 appeared before the Circuit Criminal court charged in relation to possession of drugs for sale and supply contrary to Section 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977.
He was also charged with endangerment contrary to Section 1.1.2 of the Road Traffic Act in relation to an incident which took place last May in which a member of the Garda drugs unit sustained a dislocated ankle.
“Just shy” of €300,000 worth of cocaine delivered to fictitious woman.
The court heard that on the 4th January 2023 a package from Colombia, which was addressed to a fictitious woman in Dublin, drew the attention of authorities.
After the package was found to contain suspected cocaine, Gardaí conducted a controlled delivery. When there was no answer at the address, they phoned the number provided on the parcel before the accused approached in a taxi to accept the package.
The court heard that the taxi driver was completely innocent and not involved in the offending in any way.
When it was put to the accused that the package contained just under €300,000 worth of cocaine, he claimed that he was a drug addict, and that he and his family were under threat.
Accused ran into Garda on stolen motorbike in Finglas.
While on bail in respect of the first offence, the accused was observed travelling at high speeds in Finglas. When he drove across the forecourt of a garage he collided with a member of the Garda drugs unit, knocking him to the ground.
The accused attempted to flee on foot, but was apprehended after a chase and was found to have a screwdriver and bags of cocaine.
Reynolds, who has two small children, admitted to knowing purchasing the stolen bike for €800.
He has nine previous convictions including four for drug dealing, three for possession of drugs, as well as convictions for criminal damage, and reckless use of a motorbike.
Judge Orla Crowe stated that the accused had taken an active role in drug dealing, noting that mandatory minimum sentence for the possession of drugs for sale and supply is 10 years.
The court noted that there were conditions that allowed departure from 10 years, setting a headline sentence of four years for the drugs offence before reducing this to a period of three years on mitigation.
For the court of endangerment, the court set a headline sentence of three years before reducing this to two years, which is to run consecutive to the three year sentence.
The sentence was backdated to the 28th of May to allow for time already spent in custody.