Amateur boxer and comedian avoids jail for drug dealing
An amateur boxer and comedian with thousands of social media followers has been given a suspended sentence for dealing drugs and money laundering in order to pay off a drug debt.
Keith Carter (32) was before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Monday.
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The father of four, with an address at Shangan Avenue, Ballymun in Dublin, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and heroin for sale or supply at his home on September 19th, 2023. He also admitted laundering €1,055, the proceeds of criminal conduct, on the same occasion.
Garda Máire Ruddy told the court that the total value of drugs found during a search of his home that day was €5,371, but that this included a small amount of cannabis and ecstasy for his own use.
'He informed us that he had a cocaine addiction and was holding the drugs to pay off a debt,' she said.
The court heard he also had five previous convictions for drugs offences in 2021, including two for sale and supply.
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Oisín Clarke BL, defending, explained that his client was the only one of his six siblings who had ever got into trouble. He now works for his brother between five and seven days a week, and lives with his partner, his mother and his four children. He raised his eldest child as a single father.
Counsel handed in a number of letters on his behalf, including one from his boxing coach and personal trainer. He noted that the trainer from his boxing club was 'extremely anti-drugs' and had indicated that Carter would be kicked out of the club in the future if involved in the drugs trade.
He explained that he has had one fight and has another two charity fights coming up. He also said that he has several thousand followers on social media for a comedy-type show.
'While he gets no money out of it, he enjoys it,' he said.
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Mr Clarke explained that he had always been a hardworking person until he stepped off a Luas platform in the dark, and his knee gave out. He required screws and plates to be fitted in his knee, and had fought his first fight with them still in place.
It was during his time off work with the knee injury that he became addicted to cocaine.
'He's a man the court can take a chance on,' defence counsel submitted, asking Judge Orla Crowe to consider his family duties. 'He can go back to being a productive member of society.'
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Judge Crowe said that he appeared to have turned his life around following his 'very serious stumble' and said she would give him one final chance.
She imposed a sentence of three-and-a-half years, but suspended it for four years to give him a chance to stay on his current path.
She said she was conscious that this was very lenient.
'This is not to gainsay the utter chaos that drugs cause across society every single day,' she said. 'People think they can take illegal drugs and they'll be grand and they're not.'
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