A Circuit Court judge has left a prison sentence hanging over a recovering Mervue heroin addict with a warning that the warrant for his committal to prison will issue if he takes the drug between now and November.
JP “Ba Ba” Flaherty (26 ), of 25 Barry Avenue, Mervue, pleaded guilty at a special District Court sitting in April to handing over heroin to two undercover Gardai near the shops in Old Mervue, while in the company of another man, who took the €150 cash, on March 22 last year.
He had been charged following a drug surveillance operation code-named, “Operation Scarf”, along with twelve other small-time drug dealers in the city.
Judge Mary Fahy imposed an 8-month sentence on Flaherty, a self-confessed heroin addict, for his role in the transaction in April.
Flaherty sought help for his addictions and appealed the severity of the sentence to the Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Raymond Groarke adjourned the initial appeal to last week’s court to see if Flaherty had managed to continue his rehabilitation and wean himself off the drug.
The initial hearing had heard Flaherty was making good progress, was off heroin, had put on weight and was looking much better, but last week’s adjourned hearing was told by Flaherty’s counsel, Denise Waldron, BL, that he had “fallen off the wagon” and was back taking drugs.
She pleaded with Judge Groarke to give her client one last chance to rehabilitate himself.
Ms Waldron said part of Flaherty’s fall from grace was the fact that he was being denied access to his child by his former partner.
Judge Groarke said the mother of the child didn’t want a heroin user near her child and that was the reason he was having difficulty with access. Hearing that there was no urine analysis report before the court, the judge said that was because it would not be a clear result.
Judge Groarke said he would help someone if they helped themselves but Flaherty didn’t seem to understand that. “How long am I supposed to drag this out – when he is using drugs he is continuing to commit crimes - by continuing to take drugs ,” Judge Groarke pointed out.
He then affirmed the order of the District Court but following further petitions by Ms. Waldron on behalf of her client, the judge postponed the issuing of the committal warrant until November 25.
He said that if a report was handed into court then showing that Flaherty’s urine tests were free of drugs, he would “hold his hand” on having the warrant issued. He warned Flaherty this was his very last chance and told him that if there was any suggestion that he had been using in the meantime the warrant would issue in November.
