Mum ‘forced at gunpoint’ to stash cannabis in her home spared jail

Tom Tuite

A Westmeath woman who claimed a dangerous criminal held a gun to her head and forced her to store almost €67,000 worth of cannabis in her home has escaped jail.

Amy O'Connor, 40, of Auburn Heights, Athlone, pleaded guilty to possessing drugs on January 18th, 2020, which were worth more than €13,000, an offence that can carry a minimum 10-year sentence.

At Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Keenan Johnson heard on Friday that O'Connor was under duress and there was no evidence that she was involved in drug trafficking.

He imposed a seven-year sentence but suspended it on condition she did not reoffend for 10 years, remained under Probation Service supervision for 18 months and followed directions to address mental health and addiction.

Earlier, the court heard how O'Connor had once travelled to Venezuela to visit her former partner Leigh O'Neill and his brother Dermot.

The Athlone men had been jailed in South America for drug offences. However, the pair broke out of prison and returned to Ireland in 2013 but have since died.

O'Connor told Judge Keenan Johnson she broke it off with Leigh about 10 years ago.

However, in late 2019, she came into contact with a person she previously knew through Leigh.

The mother of three maintained this man made her drive to another location in Westmeath, held a knife to her and said, "You will do what your fucking told you whore, or I will drive it through your jugular."

She told the court that the man "stuck a gun to my head" and kept it pointed at her during the drive while threatening to kill her.

O'Connor told the court they met another man to collect the cannabis, and they "joked about putting me in the boot".

Visibly upset, she said the man left a knife outside her home, and she was terrified. She testified that previously, the same man had "blown up" a car at her house.

The prosecution challenged her account and put it to her that the drugs had been in her house for four months, but she maintained she was afraid and being watched.

Although she admitted the charge, she still disputes portions of the prosecution's evidence, which resulted in what is known as a Newton hearing.

Garda Stephanie Treacy said she carried out surveillance over a few days and observed several people calling to O'Connor's home, but they did not stay long. However, she did not witness any item changing hands.

A warrant was obtained, and the house was searched, resulting in gardaí uncovering vacuum-packed bags in O'Connor's bedroom. She admitted ownership.

The total value was €67,660, and gardai had no record of her attempts to inform them of the situation.

During her interview, she said that the drugs belonged to the man she knew through her now-deceased ex-partner Leigh O'Neill.

However, she did not give gardaí the PIN to her phone, which they could not unlock and in court O'Connor said she could not remember it due to a brain injury she suffered last year.

She claimed she repeatedly tried to contact the local garda station directly, including the drug unit's number, but never dialled 999. The local gardai had no record of these attempts but had logged calls from her about other complaints.

John Shortt SC, defending, submitted that his client had also given an account of being seriously attacked previously. It led to her going to A&E, but the CCTV evidence was not available, and she had made numerous attempts to seek help from gardai, the defence stressed,

A psychological report on the accused was also furnished to the court.