This article is from page 32 of the 2009-02-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 32 JPG
A MAN whose heroin addiction costs him €100 a day is a threat to society and has a ‘dysfunctional lifestyle’, according to gardai.
In objecting to bail for the father- of-two, who faces five drug-related charges, gardai said he was a flight risk. After hearing that the accused injects himself three times a day and his addiction costs him €100 a day, Judge Joseph Mangan refused to grant bail.
Emmet Curley, (28), of Rineanna View, Shannon, is accused of posses- sion of cocaine and ecstacy for sale or supply, at Tullyvarraga, Shannon, on April 11, 2008.
He is also accused of possession of cocaine, ecstacy and cannabis, on the SENSO Esl Kom ;
Garda Sean O Murcht told Shan-
non District Court last Thursday that he arrested the accused the previous morning in Cork City.
Mr Curley was brought to Shannon Garda Station, where he was charged with five alleged offences.
He did reply to each of the charges when they were put to him, said the garda. In reply to one, he said, “I apologise. I had a serious problem with coke at the time.” In reply to another charge, he said, “I apologise for being involved in ecstacy as I don’t take them but they were for my friends, so I picked them up.”
His response to another charge was, ‘“T apologise for having the ecstacy as I don’t take them. They were for my friends,” while in reply to another charge, he said, “I apologise about the cocaine as I had a serious prob- lem at the time.”
Replying to the fifth charge, he said,
“T had that for my own personal use to help me sleep as I have an anxiety problem.”
Judge Mangan asked what quantity of drugs would the State be alleging was involved. The garda said it was €1,700 in total.
Inspector Tom Kennedy said the DPP would be consenting to summa- ry disposal of the case in the district court, but only on a plea.
However, defending solicitor Jen- ny Fitzgibbon said she wasn’t in a position to comment on that at this stage. She sought bail for her client, but Inspector Kennedy said the State would be resisting this.
The solicitor said her client has been living in accommodation pro- vided by the Simon Community in Cork for the past couple of months.
Inspector Kennedy said that two of the charges were for alleged sale or
supply of drugs.
“They go back to last April when they were detected. Shortly after that, he left the area and his whereabouts was not known until yesterday. Garda O Murcht went to Cork looking for him. It was fortuitous that he found him on the street in Cork,” he said.
Garda O Murchu then explained that the accused had left Shannon in ALbn ten
“I was made aware that he was in Cork city, but that he was living rough. When he was stopped by gardai in Cork city, he was giving his Shannon address,” he said.
Inspector Kennedy said the accused was giving the Shannon address as it was “convenient” for him. “He has no address. He has a dysfunctional lifestyle. He is addicted to substances by his own admission. He represents a flight risk. He’s in a vulnerable po-
sition and he is also a threat to soci- ety, he said.
Garda O Murchu explained that the accused is addicted to heroin. “He’s injecting himself three times a day, at a cost of €100 a day,” he said.
Mr Curley told the court that his wife has been encouraging him to return to their home for the past two months, but “because of my problem with heroin I didn’t want to go home to my kids.”
He said he gave his Shannon ad- dress to gardai in Cork as he still con- sidered it as his home address.
“I begged for money in Cork to feed my habit, which I’m afraid of. I never committed any crime in Cork. I am not a threat to society,” ater BCG
Judge Joseph Mangan remanded Mr Curley in custody to reappear in court later this month.