An Armagh man who was caught with Class A, B and C drugs has been jailed for a month.
The 21-year-old’s barrister said the defendant had stopped taking his medication which had led to “a period of instability”.
Patrick Pearse Killen, of Corrigan Court, appeared for sentencing on possession of Class A, possession of Class B and possession of Class C drugs at the city’s Magistrates’, where he appeared via videolink from Maghaberry.
Defence barrister Ciara Ennis commented that this was in breach of an 18 month suspended sentence but added that the defendant’s last entry in his record for drug offences dated back to March 2017.
She also stated that the presentence report which was before the court was created at a much more settled time of Killen’s life.
Prosecution outlined that on June 28, at 5am, police were called to a property in Portadown. Staff said the defendant had been up all night and was agitated.
When they went to his room, they found white powder and a broken pen. Killen informed the staff it was cocaine or methamphetamine.
Police arrived at 5.35am and during a search of the defendant they found a quantity of cannabis and a powdered tablet.
Killen appeared for a voluntary interview on July 3. During this he admitted to the offences but could not account for the crushed tablet. Testing revealed this to be a Class C substance.
Ms Ennis stated: “He has met these matters face on. His record is not the worst with only one relevant entry from March 2017.
“He was previously in assisted living with Praxis, he is diagnosed but he stopped taking his medication and this led to a period of instability.”
She added: “I ask that he is given full credit for the way he has met this. There has been further offending but they have not been of this nature.”
Deputy District Judge Austin Kennedy said: “Possession of drugs are a scourge on society and it must be stamped out.”
Killen was sentenced to one month in prison for the offences.
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