Enniskillen Courthouse
A 50-year-old man who was found with cannabis, hallucinogenic magic mushrooms and a knife following a road crash has been fined in court.
John Young, of Furnaceland, Swanlinbar, pleaded guilty to being in possession of a class B and class B drug when he appeared before Fermanagh court.
Young was ordered to pay fines totalling £250 following his conviction.
Outlining the background of the case, a prosecutor explained that on October 2, 2014, police attended a road traffic collision on the Marble Arch Road in Florencecourt.
Officers found Young standing on some nearby grass where he was questioned about his alleged careless driving.
But in the course of the investigation police found a small amount of cannabis as well as a knife on his person. Police subsequently carried out a search of the defendant’s vehicle where they found two small packages of magic mushrooms.
Young was arrested on suspicion of being in possession of drugs and was taken to Enniskillen police station for an interview.
The packages were sent off for examination to forensic services who confirmed they were cannabis and magic mushrooms.
However, officers accepted that the knife was given to the defendant by his boss for his work as a gardener.
Defence solicitor Niall Bogue explained that the small amount of cannabis recovered was for his client’s own use.
“The defendant has no record,” he added.
“He is an unemployed gardener and is married without children.”
District Judge Nigel Broderick told Young that he would deal with the case by way of a monetary penalty because it was a “small amount for his own use”.
A third charge of being in possession of a knife was withdrawn by the Public Prosecution Service.
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