A Garda has claimed privilege when asked whether a vehicle that allegedly contained Gerry Hutch and Jonathan Dowdall was being tracked.
The development came on what is the ninth day of the trial of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch over the murder of Kinahan cartel associate David Byrne at Dublin’s Regency Hotel on February 5, 2016.
Hutch (59), dressed today in a navy blazer, white shirt and brown trousers, listened intently as his defence team cross-examined several members of the Garda National Surveillance Unit (NSU) today.
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And in one of these exchanges, a Garda who cannot be identified and was referred to as ‘Member CZ’ declined to say whether a vehicle that allegedly contained the accused was being tracked at the time it was observed.
The garda, who is a member of the NSU, was giving evidence about what they allegedly observed - namely the movements of 161D Toyota Land Cruiser coming from the north and into the Ardee area of Co Louth at 11:36 pm on March 7, 2016.
The officer stated that they observed Jonathan Dowdall as being the driver of the car - and the front-seat passenger as being Gerry Hutch.
Both individuals would be known to them, the garda told the court - describing how Mr Hutch was allegedly sitting in the passenger seat and wearing a black beanie hat.
Under cross-examination from the Defence today, the officer was asked at what time the Land Cruiser crossed the border from Northern Ireland.
The garda said they were “not aware” what time the vehicle crossed the border.
Defence Counsel Brendan Grehan SC asked the officer if they knew what time the Land Cruiser was due to pass them in the area of Ardee in which they were waiting.
The officer said they were in communication with other gardai via radio and it was “a waiting game” and they would have been hanging around waiting for the vehicle.
Mr Grehan responded by saying: “Are you seriously saying that’s how general the whole thing was,” in that the officer was just waiting around for the Land Cruiser to show up.
He followed that up by asking “was there a tracker on that Toyota Land Cruiser?”
The officer then stated that they were going to cite privilege in relation to that question.
Member CZ confirmed to Mr Grehan that the purpose of their duty that day was to make observations of interest -but they did not follow the Land Cruiser.
The officer was further asked if their colleagues had been following the jeep as it went through Northern Ireland - to which the officer said they didn’t think so but that those gardai would have to answer that question.
The public have been excluded from the court this morning as further evidence is being heard from surveillance gardai whose identities have to be anonymised - following an order from Ms Justice Burns.
And also taking the stand earlier today, ‘Member S’ told the court about what he allegedly observed while involved in an operation on the evening of Friday, February 12, 2016.
The garda said they wished to refer to their notes.
Member S told the court that at approximately 6:40pm on that date they observed a black Honda motorcycle drive out of the gateway of an address on the Navan Road in Dublin - the home of former Sinn Fein councillor Jonathan Dowdall.
The garda said they observed the motorbike heading in the direction of Ashtown.
The officer said that when the bike drove past them, they “recognised the driver as being Gerard Hutch.”
The driver they said was wearing all black bike gear and a helmet - and passed them heading towards the traffic lights before performing a U-turn and heading back towards the city centre.
The motorbike they said, travelled up the bus lane and towards the city centre - where they observed them going as far as Cabra Garda Station - before losing sight of them.
Asked by the prosecution if the person they saw on the bike is the same man sitting in the dock of the courtroom today, Garda S said “Yes. That’s the accused person.”
Defence Counsel Brendan Grehan SC asked the garda why it was that they had taken notes when their colleagues, who have already given evidence last week, did not.
“Are you not all trained the same way,”? Mr Grehan asked.
The garda said they can’t comment on what anyone else does, but said they themselves take notes where possible.
The officer said they took notes because “I knew it was an important sighting.”
They said they therefore took notes at the first available opportunity.
Also giving evidence was ‘Member T’ who referred to their notebook to tell the court of their involvement in an operation on March 7, 2016.
The officer said that at 2:45pm they observed a 161D grey Toyota Land Cruiser driving down the M1 and that the driver was Jonathan Dowdall and the passenger was Gerry Hutch - who was wearing a black beanie hat.
The vehicle they said was driving northbound and approached a toll plaza.
Member T was also on duty during the operation on March 9 - in the Malahide area, where they said they observed the Insignia parked up outside a Mattress Mick's store at 4:50pm.
At 5:10pm they saw a grey Cordova which was on Newtown avenue and turned towards Greencastle parade.
They said they watched the driver park up, get out and walk across to the Insignia, where they said they got into the driver’s seat.
At 6:25pm they said they observed Shane Rowan walking up Greencastle Parade - and a silver Yaris driving with him at the same pace.
The driver of that Yaris, this garda said, was Patsy Hutch - who is not before the courts.
The officer said they observed Shane Rowan then getting into the driver’s seat of the grey Opel Insignia.
The Defence asked Member T how they observed the Land Cruiser first - on March 7.
The officer said they got out of the car they were driving and were on the hard shoulder when they observed the jeep - containing Jonathan Dowdall and Gerry Hutch, coming up to the toll.
The officer was asked “how far in advance” of this approach did they know the vehicle was coming their way, to which they said “it was only a few minutes.”
Member T said they were involved in a separate operation when they were asked to head to that location - and arrived there within 15 to 20 minutes.
The officer got into a position and got out of their car - saying they observed the Land Cruiser coming up to the toll plaza, a couple of feet ahead of them.
The Defence asked the garda if they were “expecting” the vehicle before it arrived - to which they said they were.
The Defence asked had the garda been told on radio who was in the vehicle to which they said: “I don’t think the passenger had been identified at that stage.”
They said the driver had been identified to them as being Jonathan Dowdall - but that they were there to confirm the identity of the passenger.
The Defence then asked if the garda had been told in advance that the passenger was Gerry Hutch - to which they said they could not recall.
The officer was also asked if they were aware of any audio device that may have been attached to the Land Cruiser that day.
The officer said they weren’t aware that there was”anything in it” or “anything on it” or “anything like that.”
Another member who gave evidence was identified as ‘BZ’ - and told the court they were on duty in the Killygordon area of Donegal on February 20, 2016.
The officer said they observed a vehicle - the 161D Toyota Land Cruiser parked opposite an address in the Killygordon area next to a silver Megane.
The court last week heard evidence about this date and location - with a different officer alleging they witnessed the accused - Gerry Hutch meeting with IRA gunman Shane Rowan there.
Rowan was subsequently caught with the three AK-47 type rifles that were later identified as being the same ones used in the Regency Hotel attack - in the Slane area of Co Meath on March 9, 2016.
And today, officer BZ, who is attached to the Crime and Security division of An Garda Siochana, told how they observed a silver Volkswagen Passat leave the estate at 12:30pm.
At 7:22pm on that same date they said they observed the Land Cruiser heading southbound on the M1 - and the driver appeared to be on his own.
They also observed the silver Renault Megane with two males inside, at about 2:35pm.
Asked by the Defence if they took notes, BZ said they did not but that they were happy with their statement based on the contents of the report.
The defence asked the garda what route they took to get to Donegal that day - and if they travelled across Northern Ireland to get there.
The officer was asked by the defence if the vehicle was in their view at the time they were travelling in Northern Ireland, to which they said no.
They were further asked by the defence how did they know where to go on that day, to which the officer said they were tasked to go from Dublin to Donegal - specifically to the Lifford area.
They said they got a message over the official garda radio which directed them to the Forest park area of Killygordon that day, they said.
Also giving evidence was ‘Member V’ who referred to what they said was their official notes made at the time of their involvement in an operation after midnight on March 8, 2016.
The officer said they observed Gerry Hutch leave the back of Kealys pub “in his BMW” which was followed by a Land Cruiser driven by Jonathan Dowdall.
Member V said they observed both men travelling towards the airport onto the M1.
They were receiving messages over the official radio they said.
Member ‘DN’ meanwhile told the court about their observations of Shane Rowan on march 9, 2016 - walking to a post office on the main street of Ballybofey in what they said was a blue padded jacket with a hood on it and blue jeans.
They further observed Rowan at 11:39am at a Great Gas filling station putting fuel into a grey vauxhall.
They then saw Rowan leave the petrol station and driving towards Ballybofey main street.
The member was asked by Defence Counsel Brendan Grehan if they kept any notes on the day to which they said they did not.
The court has already heard evidence of how Rowan allegedly drove that car from Donegal down to the Malahide Industrial Estate in Dublin that evening - where he met with Patsy Hutch - a brother of the accused- and sat in a Yaris with him.
Some 34 minutes after this alleged meeting Rowan was caught in the Slane area with the rifles used in the Regency.
And giving evidence today, Member ‘BU’ told the court that they observed Shane Rowan walking down the escalator of the Clarehall Shopping Centre at 3:51pm - entering a Carphone warehouse shop and carrying a long cardboard box.
At 5:03pm they said they observed Rowan as being the front seat passenger in a silver Yaris with a 01 CE registration.
Asked by the Defence if they had taken any notes on the day, the member said they didn’t.
The Defence said the garda had given “very precise details and times,” - and the garda stated that they made their statement about what happened the following day.
The Defence said that the memory of the garda was apparently very good as they had not taken notes and didn’t give a statement that day.
The officer said their memory of what happened that day was quite clear in their mind.
They also said it may be the case that there was another garda who was specifically designated to record the sightings that day.
Witness ‘DI’ - also a member of the NSU gave evidence of their involvement in the operation on March 9, 2016 - telling the court that they were in the general vicinity of the Malahide road when they observed a grey Opel Insignia parked unattended in the car park of the Clarehall Shopping centre at 3:40pm.
At 3:44pm they said they observed Shane Rowan exiting the underground car park door nearest the KFC - and he was carrying a box at the time.
At 5:05pm they said they saw a silver Toyota Yaris stop at the traffic lights at the junction between Malahide and Greencastle.
They stated that the car was being driven by Patsy Hutch at the time - and that the passenger was Shane Rowan.
They are the second garda to tell the court in recent days about the pair allegedly being in the same car together.
They saw them going towards the Malahide road - and at 6:26 the officer said they then observed Rowan again - this time on foot.
They said they saw Rowan walking on the footpath, turning left onto Greencastle parade near the Bargaintown store - and that the Yaris, which was being driven by Patsy Hutch, drove slowly up next to him.
Four minutes later Rowan they said was in the Opel Insignia and stopped at traffic lights - when Patsy Hutch allegedly pulled up in the Yaris next to him, and appeared to roll down the window of his car.
Both cars then went in opposite directions, they said - with Patsy turning right towards the city - and Rowan turning left and southbound down the M50 - eventually turning off at the Finglas exit, onto the N2, and pulling over onto a hard shoulder at 6:55pm.
This officer was also asked by the Defence if they kept notes of what they observed - to which they said they hadn’t.
The Defence asked if the garda was nervous at all about forgetting any of the details given the fact that they took no notes.
The officer stated that the practice would be that another person on an operation takes notes - generally a supervisor - and that this wasn’t their role.
The officer said they made a statement the next day - and that generally the fallback would be to clarify with that person about details.
After hearing evidence from various NSU members, the public were briefly allowed back into the court when the evidence of Detective Sergeant Andrew Madden of the PSNI was called to the stand.
The since retired PSNI officer said he was tasked with collecting CCTV evidence on February 26, 2016 - following a request from An Garda Siochana.
Specifically he was to obtain footage of a silver grey Land Cruiser at a service station at 9:15am on that day - and for any records that may exist of purchases made there.
The second inquiry he was dealing with he said was over the movements of the same Land Cruiser that visited the Quays Shopping Centre in Newry between the hours of 7pm and 7:15pm on February 20,2016.
He collected the footage and on May 19, exhibits were also passed on to gardai.
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