Six years for 19-year-old who was 'pivotal cog' in drugs scene

A teenager termed a "pivotal cog in the local drugs scene" by Judge Frank O’Donnell has been sentenced to six years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Keith McDermott (aged 19) began drinking aged 14 and then moved on to cannabis and cocaine, eventually accumulating a 'debt' to an inner city criminal gang. He claimed he was forced into holding nearly €40,000 worth of cocaine to repay this debt.

Detective Garda Kieran O’Reilly told prosecuting counsel, Mr Shane Costello BL, that a mobile phone owned by McDermott contained two text messages with a list of people who got drugs and the money they "owed".

McDermott of Boyne Street, Dublin 2, who pleaded guilty to having cocaine valued €38,640 on June 22, 2007 in a pram shed at his apartment, denied he was responsible for the text messages and any knowledge of them.

He said he got a phonecall from a person he was afraid to name for fear of being shot telling him to remove some of the cocaine from the shed and bring it a city centre location.

Judge O’Donnell suspended the final three years of the sentence for three years on strict conditions. He noted McDermott’s probation report said he was at a low risk of reoffending but that he failed to admit he was a drug dealer.

Det Gda O’Reilly agreed with defence counsel, Mr Padraig Dwyer SC, that McDermott "co-operated up to a point" when interviewed by gardaí but was afraid to name who phoned him for fear that he or a member of his family would be shot. He had no previous convictions and hadn’t come to garda attention since.

Mr Dwyer submitted that McDermott’s mother died when he was just 10 years old and he had a good relationship with his father who was in court supporting his son. McDermott was also doing well on a catering course and had made good efforts to better himself.