A drug dealer who threw €12,000 worth of drugs out of a bathroom window while fleeing Gardai during a raid has received a sixteen-month suspended jail sentence.
Gavin McGuinness, 37, discarded a bag containing cannabis, cocaine, and ecstasy through the bathroom window of his Moville apartment as detectives raided the property.
The defendant previously appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court and admitted to three charges of possessing a controlled drug, specifically cocaine, with the intent to sell or supply it to others.
McGuinness also pleaded guilty to obstructing a member of An Garda Síochána by throwing a bag of illegal drugs out of the apartment’s bathroom window.
Judge John Aylmer delivered his sentence after hearing the case facts last February.
The judge noted that McGuinness was suffering from a serious addiction and cohabitated with someone who supplied him with drugs, fueling his habit. His involvement in dealing primarily consisted of making phone calls and similar actions.
Judge Aylmer acknowledged Gardai’s assessment of McGuinness’s role as being at the lower end of such offenses, stating that before mitigation, it warranted a two-year prison sentence.
However, Judge Aylmer recognized McGuinness’s full cooperation, admissions, development of addiction during the pandemic, previous good character, and status as a good worker.
McGuinness had also taken significant steps by undergoing private counseling at his family’s expense and now appeared drug-free and employed.
A Probation Services report indicated a low risk of reoffending and no need for intervention.
Considering this and his counselling, Judge Aylmer reduced the sentence to 16 months in prison.
He then considered whether to suspend the sentence, noting its unusual nature given the gravity of the crime. However, based on the Probation Service’s assessment and McGuinness’s rehabilitation, he suspended the sentence in its entirety.
McGuinness was ordered to maintain the peace for sixteen months and abstain from unprescribed drugs during that period.
Detective Garda Jason Conroy, outlining the case to Ms. Fiona Crawford BL, representing the state, stated that gardai executed a warrant at an apartment in Bath Terrace, Moville, on January 25, 2021.
McGuinness was present in the doorway when officers arrived.
During the search, gardai discovered €800 in cash, in €50 notes, in a bedroom.
Subsequently, gardai were informed of a bag containing drugs found on the roof of an adjacent apartment.
The items were sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis and identified as cannabis, cocaine, and ecstasy.
The confiscated drugs included ecstasy valued at €9,790, Cocaine worth €638.47, and €1,962 of cannabis.
Gardai also found cannabis joints, a small bag of cannabis herb, and a grinder on a coffee table in the living room.
McGuinness’s phone was seized, revealing text messages and communication relating to “stuff,” “deals,” and other drug-dealing activities, according to Detective Garda Conroy.
During questioning, McGuinness admitted to “getting bits for friends, but I’m not selling loads, like.” While denying drug dealing, he admitted ownership of the bag of cannabis found on the coffee table.
The court learned that McGuinness had previous convictions, including four for drug possession, two for driving without insurance, one for drunk driving, and one for failing to produce insurance.
Detective Garda Conroy agreed with Mr. Colm Smyth SC, McGuinness’s barrister, that another individual was apprehended elsewhere, leading to the Moville apartment search warrant.
Mr. Smyth stated his client had been taking drugs for some time and “had a dependence on drink and drugs and would have been ripe for the picking.”
McGuinness testified that another party instructed him that “if the guards came to throw the bag out the window.”
He explained that he missed a Probation Service appointment due to moving to Carlow, resulting in a lack of mail and telephone/email contact.
McGuinness stated he is a full-time concrete finisher and that since starting counselling “my life changed from that day onwards”.
The defendant’s father, Harold McGuinness, testified he became aware of his son’s problem and heard secondhand about the apartment raid.
He reported his son had engaged with White Oaks and a counsellor in Derry.
He also noted that his son hadn’t returned to the apartment and now works outside of Donegal, a regular arrangement affected by increased local presence during Covid-19.
Mr. McGuinness expressed happiness at his son’s improvement and drug-free status.
Inishowen man who threw €12,000 of drugs out window avoids jail was last modified: June 4th, 2025 by
