Meath Man Charged After Mere €20 Drugs Haul
Posted on | April 9, 2008
A 29-year old man has appeared at a special sitting of his friend’s kitchen, charged in connection with yesterday’s disappointing drug seizure in Co. Meath.
€20 worth of White Widow herbal cannabis was all that the man was able to acquire in the four days he had to carry out his requested task.
John Murphy-Smith of Killmary Avenue, Ashbourne, was charged with “lack of motivation regarding intent to supply close friends with plenty of quality weed”. The makeshift court heard that Mr Murphy-Smith also faced a charge of forgetfulness.
Self-appointed judge David McElroy said the accused made no counter-argument when initially reprimanded in the sitting room last night.
The jury of one, Ms Emer Dempsey, girlfriend of Judge McElroy, returned a guilty verdict within ten seconds of hearing the prosecution’s (Mr McElroy again) argument.
Mr Murphy-Smith was hauled before the impromptu kangaroo court after he arrived at Mr McElroy and Ms Dempsey’s home last night with the scant acquisition.
The consignment in question was purchased from Mr Murphy-Smith’s brother in Swords only two hours before meeting the couple at their apartment yesterday for a “B&B” (blow and Buckfast) night in.
Making a leniency application, Mr Murphy-Smith said he had recently started a new job and so had “understandably” forgotten the couple’s “short notice request” to acquire some weed for the planned session.
However, Mr McElroy rejected this plea, countering that Mr Murphy-Smith’s new job consisted of “only” three shifts per week at the local Centra, and that four days notice was “more than sufficient” to carry out his task adequately.
The testimony of a mutual friend via text message that the accused was lying about the circumstances of the purchase, and had in fact smoked over half the haul the previous night, were strenuously denied by Mr Murphy-Smith.
Judge McElroy accepted there was no evidence for these allegations by the third party and requested that the jury not take them into consideration when it came to her final verdict.
Today’s proceedings were supposed to have gone ahead last night but judge, jury and accused got sidetracked into watching infomercials on cable television shortly after going ahead and smoking the inadequate consignment.
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