Murder victim 'allegedly involved in previous assault'
The trial of two Dublin men accused of murder has heard that the deceased man was allegedly involved in an assault outside a Clondalkin pub and in the years since then three of the assailants have been shot, two fatally, the Central Criminal Court has heard.
Defence barrister, Mr John Phelan SC told the jury that two of the assailants in this assault including Mr O’Reilly have since been shot dead, a third was shot and wounded and a fourth was driven off the road by another vehicle.
Mr Brian Kenny, aged 36 of Kilshane Cross, Finglas, Co Dublin and Mr Thomas Hinchon, aged 25 of St. Ronan’s Close, Clondalkin have denied the murder of 25-year-old Dubliner Mr Jonathan O’Reilly of St Mark’s Gardens, Clondalkin on April 17, 2004.
Mr Kenny also pleaded not guilty to threatening to kill Mr Joseph O’Callaghan on April 17, 2004 at Finglas, Dublin. Mr Kenny denies the possession of a firearm, a Berratta single automatic shot gun on 10 May 2004 at Michelstown Cottage, Kilshane Cross, Dublin. He also pleaded not guilty to possession of ammunition which consisted of shot gun cartridges, on the same date. Mr Hinchon pleaded not guilty also to threatening to kill Mr Joseph O’Callaghan on April 17, 2004.
It is alleged by the State that the deceased man was shot outside Cloverhill prison as he sat in a BMW car. A motor cycle drew up beside the car and a number of shots were fired through the car glass and struck Jonathon O’Reilly mortally wounding him, the State alleges.
Yesterday Mr David Murray from Clondalkin told prosecuting counsel, Mr Sean Guerin BL, that he was in the back seat of the BMW car when his friend was fatally shot. On the day of the incident, Mr Murray and the deceased watched the Manchester United v Portsmouth match in Mr Murray’s home in Clondalkin.
Mr Murray told the jury that sometime after the match ended, Mr Robbie O’Hanlon from Lucan rang Jonathan O’Reilly’s mobile phone and asked the pair if they wanted to go to Liffey Valley shopping centre. Mr Murray said Mr Gordon Kelly was sitting in the back of the car with him while Mr O’Reilly was in the passenger’s seat.
On the way to the shopping centre, Mr Murray told the jury that Mr O’Hanlon said he was going to drop clothes off to his brother in Cloverhill prison. When Mr O’Hanlon ran into the prison to leave the clothes in, Mr Murray said there was just Mr Kelly, the deceased and himself in the car.
"Two blokes came on a motorbike", Mr Murray told the jury and that these two men were dressed in black and wore black helmets, he added.
The motorbike, Mr Murray said, "stopped at the passenger side, right up at the door". Then, he said, "three shots were fired". "A gun was produced by the man on the back of the motorbike", Mr Murray told the jury.
"Jonathan dived towards the driver side, he said ‘ah’, when he was shot", Mr Murray told the jury. "I ducked when the shots were fired", he added.
Under cross-examination by defence barrister, Mr John Phelan SC, Mr Murray said he had not thought of the "parking arrangements" since the fatal incident. Mr Phelan acting on behalf of Mr Kelly asked the witness did he not think it was "odd that Robbie O’Hanlan went to the wrong side of the road to park his car" leaving the deceased sitting in the passenger seat exposed on the side of the road.
The defence barrister went on to ask Mr Murray did he know of an incident involving the deceased man that took place in the "Glue Pot" pub in 1996 in which a concrete block was allegedly dropped onto the head of Mr Patrick Hegarty. Mr Murray said he didn’t know the "chap". The court heard that Mr O’Reilly received an 18-month suspended sentence for his role in this assault.
Mr Phelan SC asked the witness did he know that two of the assailants in this assault including Mr O’Reilly have since been shot dead, a third was shot and wounded and a fourth was driven off the road by another vehicle.
The defence barrister for Mr Kelly said to Mr Murray that the deceased man was also convicted of drugs possession and that he was "a serious player in the drugs scene in West Dublin". Mr Murray disagreed with this contention saying "no, he wasn’t".
Under cross-examination by defence barrister, Mr Brendan Nix SC, Mr Murray said he thought it "could be" a coincidence that nearly all those involved with the alleged assault on Patrick Hegarty in 1996 have since been the victim of violent assaults.
The other back seat passenger on the day of the fatal incident, Mr Gordon Kelly from Clondalkin, told Sean Guerin BL that earlier that day himself and Mr O’Hanlon had visited a friend in Portlaoise prison.
When they returned home, Mr Kelly drove a BMW car, which belonged to Mr O’Hanlon over to Mr O’Hanlon’s house in Arthur Griffith Park, Lucan. The pair then left for Cloverhill prison to deliver clothes to Mr O’Hanlon’s brother.
Mr Kelly said he was sitting in the passenger seat but when they collected the deceased and Mr Murray said that he got into the back seat and let Mr O’Reilly take the front seat in the two door BMW car.
"Jonathan screamed when the shots were fired", Mr Kelly said. "I was in shock for a few seconds before I got out of the car", he told the jury.
Under cross examination by Mr Phelan SC, Mr Kelly admitted that he used a false name when visiting a friend earlier that day in Portlaoise prison. Mr Kelly also told the court that he had been convicted of possession of drugs worth IR£10,000 and agreed with the defence barrister when he suggested that he had "no regard for the law".
Mr Phelan SC suggested that he couldn't "care less" if he knocked someone down when he was driving Mr O’Hanlon’s car from his house to Lucan to which Mr Kelly said, "that’s correct".
Mr Kelly said it was "definitely wrong" when the defence barrister suggested that the reason the car was parked on the wrong side of the road, leaving Mr O’Reilly exposed was that "you were effectively setting up Jonathan O’Reilly".
Mr Phelan went on to suggest that the reason why Mr O’Reilly was in the front passenger seat and that the car was parked in such a manner was to "aid the assassin".
"All this crocodile tears was a load of old codswallop", Mr Phelan SC suggested, to which Mr Kelly said, "whatever you think".
The driver of the BMW car, Mr Robbie O’Hanlon from Lucan, told the court that when he came out of Cloverhill prison from dropping off clothes to his brother, he heard "glass breaking".
He said the gunman was about two or three feet from the car. When Mr O’Hanlon ran down to the car, he saw Jonathan O’Reilly "slumped over onto the drivers seat with his hand on the horn".
The trial continues before Mr Justice Michael Peart.
