A convicted killer who acted as a getaway driver in a murder that sparked a ten-year gangland feud in Limerick 23 years ago has been jailed for five years after "accidentally" firing a shotgun that injured his friend.
Paul Coffey, who has 100 previous convictions, pleaded guilty last March to the reckless discharge of a firearm and to possession of a firearm in circumstances suggesting he did not have it for a lawful purpose. At the Central Criminal Court today Mr Justice Paul Burns sentenced Coffey to six years in prison with the final 12 months suspended for three years in respect of the possession charge. The judge sentenced Coffey to three years for the reckless discharge offence, to run concurrently.
On his release from prison, Coffey will be required to work with the probation services and to keep the peace. The judge had set the headline sentence at nine years but reduced that having considered mitigating factors including Coffey's guilty plea. The judge also noted that at the time of the offence Coffey was homeless and using crack cocaine and heroin but is now drug-free in prison. Coffey's counsel had asked the court to suspend part of any sentence to incentivise Coffey's continued rehabilitation. Coffey's sentence will be backdated to August 2021 when he first went into custody.
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