Dealer's mother took loan to pay drug debts

A drug dealer whose mother had to take out a bank loan to pay off his debts after her home was shot at by criminals has been jailed for four years by Judge Katherine Delahunt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Patrick Comey (aged 23), of Dunard Avenue, Cabra pleaded guilty to possession of drugs for sale or supply after being caught with €17,300 worth of heroin at his home on September 7, 2006.

Garda Alan Govern told Judge Delahunt that gardaí were satisfied Comey was a “player in the drugs trade” though he had only minor previous convictions for road traffic offences.

Mrs Mary Comey told Judge Delahunt that she had taken out a €11,000 loan to pay of her son's debts after shots were fired at her home in February 2007.

She was not in the house at the time and although her front window was smashed in, nobody was injured.

Judge Delahunt said she was not “completely satisfied” with Mrs Comey's evidence after defence counsel, Mr Michael Bowman BL, handed bank documents into court stating she had borrowed €6,000.

She accepted that drugs had brought tragedy to Comey's family and two of his brothers also had addictions.

Judge Delahunt noted that Comey had a serious skin condition and was on disability allowance as a result. She said that while he is now drug free, he never told gardaí during interview that he had an addiction nor that he had a debt as a result.

Judge Delahunt also noted that a probation report before the court indicated that Comey was at a “high risk of re-offfending”.