A 27-year-old Polish man was sentenced to prison at Ballina District Court this week for an assault on his former business partner, for the sale and supply of cannabis, and for the possession of E tabs and traces of cocaine.
On June 3 2012 gardaí received confidential information that Grzegorz Dorota, 4 Garden Court, Ballina, was selling cannabis in the Ballina area. A search warrant was obtained and the house where he was staying at the time (20 Glen na Rí, Ballina ) was searched by the Garda drugs unit.
In his room, contained in a small black bag, were eight ecstasy tables. The street value of these was €80. In another bag traces of cocaine were found. The defendant handed over to gardaí a bin bag full of cannabis which had a street value of €8,324. A weighing scales was also found in his bedroom.
In an interview with gardaí he admitted that he supplied his friends with cannabis and said he bought it in Galway. He also admitted buying the E tabs in a night-club in Galway, but he made no reference to where he got the cocaine.
The defendant was also before the court for a section 3 assault of his former business partner. On September 12 2012 the defendant called to a garage which he used to run with another Polish national in order to discuss financial matters. It is alleged that Dorota grabbed the other man in a headlock and pulled him to the ground where the man sustained a fractured nose. Solicitor Michael Bohan said that his client did not grab the other man in a headlock but caught him by the jumper and they both fell to the ground and the man banged his nose.
Dorota, who has no convictions in Poland, has 12 convictions in Ireland. Judge Mary Devins asked his solicitor why the defendant has no convictions in Poland but “comes to our Republic of Ireland” where he aquires convictions. “Does Mr Dorota think that the criminal justice system in Ireland is something of a soft touch?”
The defendant apologised to the court for disrespecting the laws of the country. The unemployed mechanic was convicted and fined €500 and sentenced to three months in prison for the sale and supply of cannabis. The section three possession of cannabis was taken into consideration. For the possession of ecstasy he was convicted and fined €100 and sentenced to one month in prison consecutive. For the possession of the traces of cocaine he was convicted and fined €100 and sentenced to one month in prison concurrent. For the section three assault he was convicted and fined €300, directed to pay €300 compensation to the injured party, and was sentenced to three months in prison consecutive.
