Limerick man accused of having loaded handgun in car was wearing ‘double set’ of clothing

The three judges sitting at the Special Criminal Court have been shown a “double set of clothing” worn by a man accused of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life in Limerick last year.

The non-jury court has previously heard that two Limerick men were stopped by gardai in an Alfa Romeo car which was found to contain a loaded handgun, two cans of petrol, clothing and cocaine.

John O'Donoghue, 29, with an address at Cliona Park, Moyross, Limerick and Paul Whelan, 25, of Dalgaish Park, also in Moyross have pleaded not guilty to possession of a 9mm Colt, semi-automatic pistol with intent to endanger life at Park Road, Corbally on July 30, 2018.

Opening the prosecution case on Thursday, Dominic McGinn SC told the three-judge court that the issue in the case was “intention rather than possession” and it would hear evidence that one of the accused men, Mr Whelan, was wearing a "double set of clothing" on the night.

Giving evidence this Friday, Garda Robert Sheehy said he had been involved in an “ongoing operation” in relation to an Alfa Romeo car.

He told Mr McGinn he received information that the Alfa Romeo car had been stopped by members of the Emergency Response Unit on the night of July 30 and he immediately made his way to the scene at Park Road.

The Alfa Romeo car was “sandwiched” in between two response units at the scene, explained Garda Sheehy. 

The witness said he saw a silver handgun, a small bag of white powder, a pair of latex gloves and two petrol canisters when he looked into the front window of the Alfa Romeo.

Garda Sheehy told Mr McGinn that he arrested Mr O’Donoghue at the scene under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and conveyed him to Henry Street Garda Station.

The witness agreed with Mr McGinn that when he was searching Mr Whelan at the scene he found three latex gloves inside a pocket of his grey Adidas hoodie.

Garda Sheehy said Mr Whelan was wearing another hoodie on top of the grey Adidas hoodie.

He agreed with Mr McGinn that Mr Whelan was also wearing a pair of black tracksuit pants over grey Adidas pants. “One was over the other, there was two layers,” commented the witness.

Each piece of clothing belonging to Mr Whelan was made an exhibit in the trial and shown to the three judges.

A statement by a Lithuanian national was also read into the record by Mr McGinn in which he [the Lithuanian national] said that he had received a phonecall from a man who was interested in purchasing a car on July 27 and they arranged to meet later that day in Limerick.

“He didn’t give me a name…. He was skinny and aged in his 30s… He had metal in his teeth, a replacement tooth and a tattoo on the right side of his neck. There was something off about him. He took out cash and didn’t make enquiries about the car or check it over. He had a bundle of €50 notes and was shaky and nervous,” read Mr McGinn.

Under cross examination by Colman Cody SC, defending Mr Whelan, Garda Padraig Brohill agreed that the accused had told him in Henry Street garda station that he had taken cocaine, Xanax and weed about two hours prior to his arrest at the scene.

Garda Brohill further agreed with the defence counsel that a doctor later referred Mr Whelan to Limerick Regional Hospital.

However, the witness said he had made “no record” if this was in connection with pain and soreness to Mr Whelan's back and neck.

In his opening address to the court, Mr McGinn said that gardai stopped Mr O’Donoghue and Mr Whelan in an Alfa Romeo car at Park Road in Corbally on July 30 at 11.50pm.

Mr O’Donoghue was the driver of the vehicle and Mr Whelan was in the front passenger seat, he indicated. 

Mr McGinn explained that the firearm was examined by ballistics and was found to be loaded with eight rounds of ammunition. 

It is the prosecution’s contention that the circumstances of the garda stop combined with other items in car – including a handgun, two cans of petrol, a glove and a change of clothing – are enough for the court to draw an inference that there was an intention to endanger life. 

The trial will resume on Monday before Ms Justice Tara Burns, presiding, sitting with Judge Patricia Ryan and Judge Flann Brennan.