Addict gets seven years for burglary and possession of ammunition

An addict who has been "in and out of jail for the last 13 years" has been given a seven years sentence by Judge Frank O'Donnell for burglary and possessing shotgun ammunition and drugs.

Samuel Hutch (aged 33) of Cardiff Bridge Avenue, Finglas pleaded guily at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possessing two shotgun cartridges on April 15, burgling two houses on April 17 and handling stolen goods and possessing cocaine on April 25, 2007.

Garda Sarah Jane Connolly said gardaí didn't accept the explanation Hutch gave them that his nephews found the cartridges he had in his possession when he was stopped on a motorbike in Scribblestown Lane, Finglas on April 15, 2007.

She told prosecution counsel, Mr Kerida Naidoo BL, that Hutch stole a wallet and MP3 player from a house in Drumheath Drive, Mulhuddart on April 17, 2007 and removed a pane of glass from a neighbouring home the same night.

She said gardaí caught Hutch driving a stolen jeep a week later in Tyrellstown, with a small quantity of cocaine and the vehicle owner's credit cards.

Judge Frank O'Donnell said he sympathised with Hutch and his family, saying: "If there was a magic wand I could wave to get this man free of drugs I would" but added that the Probation and Welfare Services deemed him to be at serious risk of re-offending because of his ongoing substance abuse.

Defence counsel, Ms Caroline Biggs BL, said Hutch had been "in and out of jail for the last 13 years" and couldn't complete an alcohol and drug addiction programme while on bail this year because he had to be treated in Blanchardstown Hospital for a gunshot wound.

Judge O'Donnell suspended the last three years of Hutch's jail term but refused to suspend activating the sentence for a week to accommodate personal arrangements.