Had €5,600 worth of drugs as well as stolen bike and chainsaw, Carlow court heard
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A 50-YEAR-old man has been given a 21-month prison sentence for possessing €5,600 worth of drugs and a stolen bike and chainsaw when he appeared before Judge Eugene O’Kelly at a recent sitting of Carlow Circuit Court.
The home of Michal Plecha, Shroughaun Close, Tullow was searched under warrant by gardaí on 27 November 2024 when the defendant and his girlfriend were in the property at the time.
Gardaí discovered a sports bag behind a couch containing five bags of green material and three smaller ziplock bags containing white powder. There were a large quantity of plastic bags and weighing scales on the table. They also found €900 in cash in his bedroom and a chainsaw and racing bike, which gardaí suspected had been stolen.
Sgt Bishop told the court that upon his arrest, Mr Plecha admitted ownership of the drugs but said he had not been selling them. He said the 243gm of cannabis was for his own use, as were the 11 individual wraps of amphetamine totalling 35gm. He also denied that the cash found was the proceeds of crime, saying he was saving to buy a car.
Sgt Bishop said his opinion on the cash was that “a lot of it, if not all, was the proceeds of a drug deal.” CCTV captured the theft of the bike and tools from the injured party’s shed. The defendant said he purchased the chainsaw second hand and that the bike had been left in his apartment by a friend. He accepted being recklessly, but not intentionally, in possession of stolen property.
Tara Geoghegan BL, representing Mr Plecha, said he was a Polish national and had a good work history until recently. He was a primary carer for his partner who has a serious illness and that is his “main focus” now. She argued that the cash was a “relatively small amount” and "wouldn't indicate a sophisticated drug operation.” A report from the probation services said he had engaged with only two out of four appointments, that he was at a high risk of reoffending and that he did not acknowledge having a severe problem with drugs.
Judge O’Kelly set a headline sentence at three years in prison for the drugs charge and reduced it by nine months. For the stolen property, he reduced a two-year sentence by six months, to run concurrently to the other sentence.
In view of his partner’s health condition, Judge O’Kelly suspended the final six months of the 21-month sentence, provided that Mr Plecha is subject to probation supervision for six months.
