Convicted drug dealer is ‘walking on thin ice’, judge says

A judge has warned a convicted drug dealer that he is “walking on incredibly thin ice” after he avoided having a three-year suspended prison sentence activated.

Hugo Porter received the suspended jail term at Limerick Circuit Court in October 2014, after he pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of cannabis worth almost €18,000.

Porter's drugs case was re-entered at Limerick Circuit Court last week under Section 99 of the Criminal Justice Act, which allows for the activation of a suspended prison sentence to be invoked, after he was convicted at Nenagh District Court on November 6th last of stealing two steel containers from a property in Newport, Co Tipperary.

The offence was committed on December 19th, 2014, six weeks after the 41-year-old received the three-year suspended sentence.

A condition of the suspended jail term was that he remain of good behaviour and not engage in criminality for a period of three years.

Making the Section 99 application at Limerick Circuit Court on Tuesday, Limerick State solicitor Michael Murray said Porter had received the suspended sentence largely on the basis that there were difficult family circumstances.

“Nothwithstanding the indulgence of the court, within a very short period of time he commited this offence,” Mr Murray said.

Defence counsel Michael Collins said his client had fully contested the theft matter in Nenagh District Court and said he intends appealing this conviction.

Assault charge

The court also heard that Porter received a two-year suspended jail term in 2009 for an assault charge.

Referring to the Section 99 legislation, Judge John Hannan said it was mandatory to invoke the suspended sentence unless the court was of the view it was unfair or unjust to do so.

The judge also noted Porter’s intention to appeal his theft conviction at Nenagh District Court.

He said an injustice “would clearly have been done” if the Section 99 order was invoked and this appeal was successful.

The judge also noted the theft charge was at the lower end of the scale.

The judge refused the application, but warned Porter that he is “walking on incredibly thin ice”.

Porter was remanded on bail to appeal before Nenagh District Court on Thursday, when he will be sentenced for the theft offence.