Dubliner cleared in pub murder trial
A 37-year-old Dublin man, described by his own barrister as "a rough diamond", has been cleared of murdering the man he was being paid to protect.
Shay Wildes from Corbally Park in Tallaght had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to the murder over two years ago in the Horse and Jockey pub, Inchicore.
Declan Griffin, aged 32, from Coolock was shot in the head at very close range with a .38 inch calibre bullet. He was later found to be wearing a bulletproof vest under his clothes and was armed with a gun.
The shooting took place around 6pm on Saturday April 5, 2003, moments after Mr Griffin was seen handing €5,000 to the accused.
The court heard this was one third of the fee charged by Wildes to protect Mr Griffin from a Tallaght family.
One of the members of this family had begun dating the deceased’s ex-girlfriend, after Mr Griffin was believed to have had an affair.
Wildes’ barrister said it seemed Mr Griffin had beaten her up and had her shot, but not to death. "It seems clear there was a blood feud between (her new boyfriend) and Declan Griffin," said John Peart, SC.
The barrister described his client as "a rough diamond, the kind of guy who could protect Declan Griffin" from the Tallaght family. He had put this family out of drug dealing in Tallaght in the past.
The jury heard that one of these Tallaght brothers had put a contract out on Mr Griffin and two genuine attempts had been made by the family to kill him.
On the evening he was shot, Mr Griffin had been summoned to the Inchicore pub to pay Wildes half of the agreed €15,000. He had been told Wildes had his enemy kidnapped, proof of which could be seen on the evening news.
A third man, who was involved in the deal, joined them in the pub, where young children were playing as their parents celebrated their wins on the Grand National.
Sandro Dambrosio told the court he saw Wildes put the money in his pocket. The witness testified that he then turned to take a drink and heard a bang.
He said he looked up and saw the bloody wound in Mr Griffin’s head and the accused running out the door. He agreed he had not seen the actual shooting.
Nobody else in the pub said they had seen the shooting; they had just heard a bang and presumed it was a firecracker.
Dr Declan Gilsenan, the pathologist who examined Mr Griffin’s body, said he died as a result of "laceration of the brain and inter-cranial haemorrhage due to a gunshot wound".
The jury of seven men and five women delivered a majority verdict of not guilty to Mr Justice Philip O’Sullivan, after over seven hours of deliberations.
