A Co Tipperary farmer who pleaded guilty to possessing angel dust has agreed to serve a 12month sentence imposed for the offence, the Supreme Court heard yesterday.
Ronald Armitage (48), father of four, of Uskane House, Uskane, Borrisokane, withdrew the appeal against the sentence which he had brought to the Supreme Court. He is to surrender himself to gardai on November 1st next to begin his sentence.
He pleaded guilty in Athlone District Court on October 21st, 1996, to 12 counts of possessing various prohibited substances, including clenbuterol, on dates in September and October 1993, March 1994 and in February 1995.
He was fined a total of £12,000 and sentenced to four periods of six months imprisonment to run concurrently.
When he appealed the case to the Circuit Court in Athlone in November 1996, Judge Anthony Kennedy affirmed the fines but varied the custodial sentence by making two of the four six-month sentences consecutive. In effect, this doubled the sentence from six to 12 months.
Armitage challenged the Circuit Court judge's decision by way of judicial review but this was refused by Mr Justice Smyth in the High Court in July 1997. Mr Justice Smyth ordered execution of the warrant for the arrest and imprisonment of Armitage but stayed the order pending the determination of any further appeal.
Armitage then appealed to the Supreme Court but when the case came before that court yesterday, Mr Patrick MacEntee SC, for Armitage, said he was withdrawing the appeal.
He undertook on behalf of his client that Armitage would surrender to gardai in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, on November 1st, 1998.