Woman gets suspended sentence for holding cocaine for murder accused

A young Dublin mother has been given a two-year suspended sentence and 240 hours of community service for storing €39,000 of cocaine for another woman, who stands trial for murder.

Judge Desmond Hogan said he believed Kim Doherty (aged 22), Pinebrook View, Huntstown, Blanchardstown was “duped” into holding the drugs for her co-accused Claire Nolan (aged 22) at an address in Parlickstown Avenue, Mulhuddert.

Doherty and Nolan both pleaded guilty to possessing 557g of cocaine worth €39,025 in a bedroom wardrobe at the Mulhuddert address on January 25, 2008.

Nolan stood trial for the murder of taxi-driver Michael Duffy (aged 67) in January 2008, but a Central Criminal Court jury failed to reach a verdict in the case earlier this month. She is now due for trial next January.

Nolan, of Sheephill Green, Blanchardstown, initially claimed Doherty had sole involvement in the offence but later admitted she had given her the cocaine to hold as she was reluctant to store drugs in her own house where her sibling’s children were resident.

Garda Desmond Morgan told Mr Gareth Baker, prosecuting, that colleagues searched the Mulhuddert premises on foot of confidential information about suspicious activity at that address.

He said gardaí found the drugs in Doherty’s bedroom wardrobe in a bag containing four wrapped packages.

Doherty said in interview that Nolan had asked her to hold the drugs two weeks prior to their discovery and had been advised to flush them down the toilet if she were caught.

She said she received a €100 bag of cocaine, or a “oner”, from Nolan to say “nice one” for holding the cocaine.

The mother-of-one told garda she was also promised money, but declined the offer.

Garda Morgan told Mr Baker that Doherty had been under no pressure and had no drug problem at the time of the offence. She had no previous convictions.

Mr Barry Hickson SC, for Doherty, submitted that his client “appreciates that what she did was pure lunacy” and has dissociated with all her former peers.

Doherty’s father told Mr Hickson that none of his children had ever been before a court and that his daughter was “generally a good kid who got involved in bad company”.

Judge Hogan said that Doherty deserved the benefit of her co-operation with the Probation Service and that he was “loathe to impose a custodial sentence having regard to Doherty’s family circumstances”.