A man who was arrested for selling Ecstacy tablets in a Letterkenny nightclub has said it was ‘out of character’ for him and a ‘once off’ incident.
Stephen Thornton, 25, with an address of Nart, Rockcorry, Monaghan was fined €500 for unlawful possession of drugs in The Grill Nightclub.
Thornton, who is employed as an engineer in Monaghan pleaded guilty to both counts of unlawful possession and to supply an illegal substance.
Garda Derek Connaughton told the court, “On the 16th of August, 2015, there was a rave type disco occurring in the club.
“I was contacted by the owner of The Grill, Mr Patrick Tinney who said he overheard a conversation between two men haggling over the price of something.
“He suspected it to be drugs related and subsequently contacted me in the interim.
“He heard the two individuals haggling, with one attempting to sell two of something for €10 – while the other man was offering €9.
“I arrived at The Grill at 12.45am and intercepted Mr Thornton as he came out of the smoking area.
“He had seven Ecstacy tablets in his pockets and €9 in the palm of his hand.
“He was then subsequently arrested for sale and supply of illegal substances.
“He was taken to Letterkenny Garda Station and he was fully co-operative with us.
“He admitted to selling four or five tablets earlier that same night, we searched him and found another €45 in his pocket which he had accumulated by selling drugs earlier that evening.”
Solicitor for the defendant Gordon Curley told the court that his client was deeply remorseful for the incident and regretted his actions which were described as ‘out of character’.
Curley told the court, “He came to Letterkenny with a group of friends for a birthday party that evening.
“He consumed too much alcohol and got involved in a situation he shouldn’t have got involved in.
“It was a once off for Mr Thornton – and he had never done anything of the sort previously and hasn’t engaged in any similar acts since.
“He deeply regrets his involvement in this unsavoury incident – and has learnt his lesson.
“This was out of character for him – he is employed as an engineer and plans on heading abroad to work in the near future.
“I would be concerned about a conviction – and the impact that would have on his attempts to seek work outside of the country.
“I’d like the court to take into account – his early guilty plea, his co-operation with Gardaí – and that he has no previous convictions.
Judge John Faughnan fined Mr Thornton €500 for unlawful possession and gave him four months to pay – while he took the charge of purpose to supply into consideration.