Hutch trial to take 'no further steps' in resolving 'curious development'

Yesterday when the non-jury court returned following the Christmas break, Sean Gillane SC, prosecuting, informed the three judges that "a curious development" had arisen which resulted in the "generation of a document" that had been disclosed to the defence and primarily concerned Mr Hutch. He added that the matter had to be looked into.

Gerard 'The Monk' Hutch (59), last of The Paddocks, Clontarf, Dublin 3, denies the murder of Kinahan Cartel member David Byrne (33) during a boxing weigh-in at the Regency Hotel on February 5, 2016.

Mr Hutch's two co-accused - Paul Murphy (61), of Cherry Avenue, Swords, Co Dublin and Jason Bonney (52), of Drumnigh Wood, Portmarnock, Dublin 13 have pleaded not guilty to participating in or contributing to the murder of Mr Byrne by providing access to motor vehicles on February 5, 2016.

CCTV evidence

The Special Criminal Court will rule on Friday on the admissibility of CCTV evidence against Mr Murphy, who is accused of helping a criminal gang murder Mr Byrne at the Regency Hotel in Dublin almost seven years ago.

CCTV footage of the movements of a Toyota Avensis which the State says belongs to Mr Murphy has previously been shown to the court. Submissions were made on Thursday by Mr Murphy's lawyer during a voir dire, or "trial within a trial", to resolve a dispute over the admissibility into evidence of the CCTV footage.

Mr Murphy's Toyota Avensis taxi is alleged to have been part of a convoy that parked up at St Vincent's GAA club grounds before the shooting and then transported an assailant after a Ford transit van was abandoned.

It is the prosecution's case that a silver Ford transit van containing six people left the Regency Hotel after the shooting, including three persons dressed in tactical garda clothing. The raiders then made good their escape by using a number of parked vehicles at St Vincent's GAA club.

Mr Gillane said in his opening address that "an integral part of the operation" which led to Mr Byrne's death was the means by which the tactical team escaped, which is central to the case of Mr Bonney and Mr Murphy.

In his submissions on Thursday, Bernard Condon SC, defending Mr Murphy, said that there were seven sources of CCTV footage in relation to his client and that the two requirements under the Data Protection Act 1993 are that the systems have to be registered with the Data Protection Commissioner and for notice to be given that there was a recording in place. 

"There is no evidence of that," he added. The barrister said the recording of data by an unregistered CCTV system was a criminal offence.

Mr Condon said the CCTV breached the accused's privacy rights. He said the right to privacy had been identified in the Constitution and the European Court of Human Rights and that there was a reasonable expectation of privacy in a public place.

In reply, Mr Gillane said this argument had not been accepted by the Special Criminal Court, the Central Criminal Court or the Circuit Court and that there was good reason for this. 

In the first instance, he said there was a high constitutional imperative of long lineage to require gardaí to seize evidence. He argued that the Supreme Court had been very critical in recent cases of gardaí who had ignored this material and that "the highest court in the land" has said that there is a duty on gardaí "to go out and get this footage". 

The lawyer added that the CCTV footage was admissible unless there was an identifiable exclusionary rule requiring the court to exclude it. The prosecution counsel submitted that the privacy right did not appear to be "tethered" to anything recognised by the court as a valid privacy right.

In summary, Mr Gillane said the CCTV footage that the State was seeking to put before the court was "manifestly relevant", capable of being material and capable of being probative. Counsel asked the court to reject Mr Condon's application.

Jonathan Dowdall

Following this, Inspector Padraig Boyce agreed with Fiona Murphy SC, prosecuting, that he had already given evidence about arresting Shane Rowan on March 9, 2016. The witness said that as part of the same investigation on March 4, 2016, Jonathan Dowdall was identified to him as a person of interest who was alleged to have been storing firearms and explosives on behalf of the IRA at his house on the Navan Road in Cabra.

The court has heard that Shane Rowan, last of Forest Park, Killygordan, in County Donegal was driving a grey Vauxhall Insignia car when he was stopped outside Slane in Co. Meath at 7.12pm on March 9, 2016. The vehicle was searched and three assault rifles modelled on original AK-47s and ammunition were found in the boot of the car. Evidence has been given that bullet cases found at the Regency Hotel murder scene were fired by the three AK-47 assault rifles.

In July 2016, Rowan was jailed for seven-and-a-half years for possession of assault rifles and ammunition. He was also sentenced to a concurrent sentence of four years in prison for IRA membership, backdated to March 9, 2016.

Insp. Boyce said on Thursday and after swearing evidence to a District Court judge, he was issued with a search warrant to search Dowdall's house. The witness said he went in the door of Dowdall's house at 8.22pm on March 9 and executed the search warrant.

Under cross-examination, Insp. Boyce agreed with Mr Grehan that the seizure of the AK-47s from the boot of Rowan's car and the search carried out immediately afterwards at Dowdall's house was "very much a co-ordinated operation". 

He agreed that he arrived at Dowdall's house 70 minutes after stopping Rowan's car. Mr Grehan put it to the inspector that he had gone "as fast" as he could to Dowdall's house following the interception at Slane. "Without incriminating myself, yes," replied Insp. Boyce.

Asked if it was his belief at the time of obtaining the warrant that Dowdall and his father Patrick Dowdall were members of the IRA, Insp. Boyce said it was. "That was based on information you are claiming confidentiality over," asked the barrister. Insp. Boyce said it was and also on other information that he had in his possession.

Insp. Boyce agreed that he had a belief that Dowdall's address was where firearms and explosives were being stored on behalf of the IRA but neither were found, only a USB key.

Detective Garda Rory Geelon said he was the exhibits officer for the search at Dowdall's house on March 9 and had been handed a black iPhone by his colleague, which he placed in an evidence bag.

Under cross-examination by Mr Grehan, Det. Gda Geelon said he was informed that the iPhone was found upstairs in the front bedroom. Asked where the USB key was located and if it was hidden, the detective said his colleague located it inside a kitchen press to the right hand side.

The court has already heard that the contents of the USB key showed Dowdall and his father Patrick Dowdall torturing Alexander Hurley.

In June 2017, Dowdall was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and his father Patrick Dowdall eight years imprisonment after pleading guilty to falsely imprisoning Mr Hurley and threatening to kill him at Jonathan's family home on January 15, 2015.

Dowdall was later re-sentenced to seven years and 11 months and Patrick Dowdall to four years imprisonment after successful appeals.

John Fitzgerald SC, for Mr Bonney, then asked for two CCTV clips recorded on February 5, 2016, to be played to the court. One was from outside Mr Bonney’s Portmarnock home, showing a flat back truck reversing towards the house at 11.38am before leaving the estate. 

The other was at Trinity Credit Union on Newbrook Road in Donaghmede, where Mr Fitzgerald said a truck was seen at 1.53pm and 2.31pm. The court has previously heard David Byrne was shot dead at 2.32pm.

The trial will continue tomorrow before Ms Justice Burns sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Grainne Malone.

Background

Ex-Sinn Féin councillor Dowdall, a former co-accused of Mr Hutch who has turned State's witness and who has pleaded guilty to facilitating Mr Byrne's murder, was on the stand for eight days in December and cross-examined for seven of those by Mr Hutch's defence counsel Mr Grehan before the Christmas break.

Dowdall (44) - a married father of four with an address at Navan Road, Cabra, Dublin 7 - was due to stand trial for Mr Byrne's murder alongside Gerard Hutch but pleaded guilty in advance of the trial to a lesser charge of facilitating the Hutch gang by making a hotel room available for use by the perpetrators the night before the attack.

Dowdall - who previously served as an elected Sinn Fein councillor in the north inner city ward in May 2014 and resigned less than one year later - was jailed by the Special Criminal Court for four years for the facilitation offence.

Following Dowdall's sentence on October 3, a nolle prosequi - a decision not to proceed - was entered on the murder charge against the former Dublin city councillor.

Dowdall's father Patrick Dowdall (65) was jailed for two years before the Regency trial started after he also admitted his part in booking the hotel room for the raiders.

Both Jonathan and Patrick Dowdall have pleaded guilty to participating in or contributing to activity intending to or being reckless as to whether such participation or contribution could facilitate the commission of a serious offence by a criminal organisation or any of its members, to wit the murder of David Byrne, by making a room available at the Regency Hotel, Drumcondra, Dublin 9 for that criminal organisation or its members, within the State on February 4, 2016.

The prosecution case is that the late dissident republican Kevin Murray used the hotel room that was booked at the Regency on the night of February 4, that he was the man seen wearing a flat cap when Mr Byrne was killed and that he cooperated with the "tactical team" that raided the Regency Hotel on February 5. Mr Murray died from motor neurone disease in 2017 before he could be brought to trial.

Mr Byrne, from Crumlin, was shot dead at the hotel in Whitehall, Dublin 9 after five men, three disguised as armed gardaí in tactical clothing and carrying AK-47 assault rifles, stormed the building during the attack, which was hosting a boxing weigh-in at the time. The victim was shot by two of the tactical assailants and further rounds were delivered to his head and body.

Mr Byrne died after suffering catastrophic injuries from six gunshots fired from a high-velocity weapon to the head, face, stomach, hand and legs.