Suspended sentence for man caught with gun
A 27-year-old city man has been given a suspended two-year sentence for having a James Bond style semi-automatic pistol and two types of military ammunition at his home in Mervue for unlawful purposes.
James McCarthy, of 14 Barry Avenue, Mervue, pleaded guilty before Galway Circuit Criminal Court in January 2014 to having a .22 Beretta semi-automatic pistol at his home on July 10, 2011, for unlawful purposes.
He pleaded guilty also to having 31 rounds of .22 LR calibre Sellier and Bellot-make ammunition and two rounds of NATO-calibre Israel Military Industries-make ammunition for unlawful purposes.
Prosecuting barrister, Conor Fahy said the plea was acceptable on condition the facts were admitted in ten other similar charges.
At a hearing the following March McCarthy was placed under the supervision of the probation service in the interim.
Defence barrister, Aisling Wall told the court this week that McCarthy had fully complied with the probation service in the intervening period and they now wanted to release him from their supervision.
She said the maximum sentence for these type of offences was 14 years while the minimum was five years.
However, she said, that if the court was satisfied there were exceptional circumstances surrounding the case then it could deem the minimum sentence unjust, and instead impose a lengthy suspended sentence.
Prosecuting barrister, Conor Fahy confirmed McCarthy had not come to the attention of the Gardai since 2011.
Judge Rory McCabe adopted Ms Wall’s submission and imposed a two-year, concurrent sentence on each of the two charges before the court which he suspended for two years.