The former manager of Angels lap-dancing club in Galway city has been jailed for seven years at Galway Circuit Criminal Court with the last two years suspended, for having a sawn-off shotgun in his possession.
Julian Spencer (42), originally from England, with an address at Ballyoughtra, Milltown, Co Kerry, was charged with being in possession of the gun on March 10th last year in Barna village, about six miles from Galway city.
Passing sentence, Judge Harvey Kenny said people who handle guns, and in particular sawn-off shotguns, must face serious penalties. "We have to get these guns out of our system. Sawn-off shotguns go through a network of considerable changes. First they are stolen, then they are skilfully machined in an involved process to modify the barrel and stock, and then they are transported and sold."
Det Garda Michael Staunton said he and two colleagues were in an unmarked Garda car on the Dublin Road at Merlin Park, Galway, when a high-powered motorbike overtook them.
A high-speed chase ensued and they caught up with the motorcycle when its driver lost control of the bike at Oranmore village. He had a rucksack which contained a one-foot long sawn-off shotgun and four cartridges.
The man, Mr Kieran Smith, with an address at Spiddal, who is unlawfully at large at present, admitted he was taking the gun and ammunition to Limerick city and he was to meet a man in a hotel there and give him the gun. He told gardaí that Spencer had supplied the gun.
Gardaí went to Angels lap-dancing club the following day and searched the premises before detaining the accused under the Offences Against the State Act.
At first Spencer denied all knowledge of the gun but later said he had received a phone call from Smith instructing him to get the gun from a shed at the back of the nightclub and take it to him in Barna. Det Staunton said Spencer had since moved to Cork and was now involved in a lap-dancing club there. "He has a lavish lifestyle and drives lavish cars like convertible BMWs. He is enjoying the good life," the detective added.
The court heard Spencer had received a prison sentence in England in 1996 for trading with intent to defraud creditors and had been disqualified for five years from being a company director. He had been convicted in this country of after-hours trading in a pub in Cork in 2002.
Mr John O'Donnell, defending, said his client knew nothing about the gun and at first thought it was an air gun when he saw it in a shed at the back of Angels lap-dancing club. His main concern at the time was getting rid of it as quickly as possible by handing it over to Mr Smith.
Judge Kenny suspended the last two years of the seven-year sentence for five years and refused leave to appeal.