A burglar who offered non-human urine in an effort to pass a prison drug test had the last three months of a 22-month sentence suspended in the Circuit Court this week (July 21 ).
“Was it from the prison cat on the wall?” asked Mr Peter D Jones, for the State.
“Do you take the doctor for a fool?”
“No comment,” said Keith Lynch (20 ), with an address at Oakdale, Baylough, Athlone.
Lynch was in court this week to appeal two consecutive 11-month sentences handed down in the Athlone District Court on February 18 for burgling Shines Bar in Baylough and the Brideswell Bar in Roscommon on a number of dates the previous autumn and for possession of eight ecstasy tablets.
The court heard how, after being identified from CCTV footage from the Brideswell raid, Lynch admitted to three burglaries at Shines and, after the Brideswell raid, from which he got €160, he threw the €1,200-worth till down a bog hole.
Lynch said he had started on heroin four years ago but had done a detox course in Cloverhill Prison and St Patrick's Institution since his incarceration last February.
“According to the Probation Services, there were eight times in prison you didn't attend for your urine test,” said Mr Jones.
Lynch claimed testing times sometimes overlapped with visiting times but Mr Jones would not accept this.
“You gave 17 clean samples and two that were not consistent with human urine,” said Mr Jones.
“That's not possible,” said Lynch.
“How many times have you said you'd change in the past?” asked Mr Jones.
“Two or three times. I've had my shock,” said Lynch, who added he hoped to start a Stepping Out course.
“It's not right to go out and steal or injure someone just because you have your problems,” said Mr Jones.
“I'm very sorry for the hassle I've caused,” said Lynch.
“When did you stop?” asked Mr Jones.
“Six months ago,” said Lynch.
“When you were caught. You didn't stop – you were stopped,” said Mr Jones.
“You're making it up as you go along. This doesn't make good reading about your bona fides in prison,” offered Mr Jones.
“You have an excuse for everything. Can you offer any assurances to the court?”
Lynch offered to live at home, give clean urine tests “seven days a week” and engage with the Welfare and Probation Service (WPS ).
Judge Anthony Kennedy ordered Lynch's two 11-month consecutive sentences run concurrently and suspended the last three months.
He also ordered the defendant stay under WPS supervision for the next 12 months.
Lynch, who has been in jail since February 18, can now expect to be released on October 18.
