A MAN who has been in and out of homes, institutions and jails since he was five years old told gardai he did not mind going to prison when they found £30,000 worth of heroin in a house he occupied. Yesterday he was jailed for eight years by Judge Kieran O'Connor.
Patrick Kinch (26) had lived rough for several years, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told.
When gardai raided a house he shared with his girlfriend at Oatfield Close, Clondalkin on January 13th, 1996 he said he got the heroin on credit from a major drug dealer and was supplying it in Ballyfermot and Fatima Mansions.
"I'm in thick sh... over this. I owe about £7,000 and I can't say who I got it from or I'll finish up in a grave," Kinch told the gardai.
Garda John Wilson told Ms Isobel Kennedy, prosecuting, that the heroin had a street value of £30,000 in January 1996. It was found in two plastic bags in a airvent. Kinch took full responsibility and said his girlfriend had nothing to do with it. He agreed Kinch did not appear to have a lavish lifestyle.
Mr O'Higgins said the report on Kinch presented one of the worst profiles he had experienced. He had a drug addiction, a hard background and nil education.
He asked for some form of monitoring to be built into Kinch's sentence, saying there was no point in Kinch coming out of prison with only his shirt on his back.
Judge O'Connor said Kinch came before him as a very sad figure. He said the court had no option but to jail him for eight years. But to encourage him to sort himself out he could apply to have his case reviewed on February 22nd, 2002.