Gardai are still investigating the 'punishment' shooting of Patrick Hutch - which mob boss Daniel Kinahan was accused of carrying out.
Kinahan, who the Special Criminal Court previously heard was the alleged shooter of Mr Hutch, is already facing a series of garda investigations and a probe by the DEA and US Treasury Department. Now it has emerged in today's latest hearing of the Special Criminal Court trial of Gerry Hutch that gardai are still investigating that shooting - which Kinahan was alleged to have carried out personally.
Hutch (59) is now in the final two weeks of his trial for the murder of Kinahan cartel associate David Byrne (34) at Dublin’s Regency Hotel on February 5, 2016 - a charge he denies. Today the court heard that the Prosecution is set to wrap up its case by Thursday - with a phone analysis expert being the likely final witness in the trial which is now in its 11th week.
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And in today’s hearing, Detective Superintendent David Gallagher of National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau outlined his knowledge of the incident in which Hutch’s nephew Patrick was shot in the leg in 2015. That incident was one which occurred right before the outbreak of the deadly Kinahan Hutch feud - which claimed 18 lives.
Det Superintendent Gallagher told the court today that Patrick Hutch received a “serious gunshot wound to the leg” and that he was brought to the Mater Hospital in Dublin where he was treated for that injury. Patrick Hutch “subsequently didn’t cooperate” with investigating gardai he said - and the matter is “still an open investigation,” he revealed.
The senior Garda also revealed that gardai were able to independently verify that a shooting had taken place - recovering a bullet casing from a vehicle, despite Patrick Hutch not making a formal complaint. The court has already heard the allegation that Daniel Kinahan personally shot Patrick Hutch Jr in a punishment shooting for his alleged role in a plot to kill the mob boss in Spain.
Boxer Jamie Moore was instead shot by an unknown assailant and survived - and Gary Hutch and his brother Patrick were blamed by the Kinahans. State witness Jonathan Dowdall also told the court that he heard while in prison that Gary and Patrick had tried to take €4.5 million from Daniel Kinahan's house.
"Patrick hid in the bush to shoot Daniel and he shot that boxer by mistake," he said, referring to Moore. Detective Superintendent Gallagher also gave details before the court today of his knowledge of the subsequent murder of Gary Hutch in Spain - for which he said Dubliner James Quinn was jailed for his role as the “getaway driver.”
The senior garda also told the court of his knowledge of the murder of Eddie Hutch - a brother of the accused, at his home in Poplar Row in Dublin on February 8 2016 - three days after the Regency incident. Det Superintendent Gallagher said he was “fully aware of the facts of that case” when challenged by Defence Counsel Brendan Grehan SC, as to whether he was involved in the investigation.
Det Superintendent Gallagher said that when he joined the Garda Organised Crime Bureau he was made fully aware of the facts retrospectively. He said the murder had occurred at 8:45pm - to which Mr Grehan defending for Hutch, said that differed with his record of when it took place.
Later the Detective Superintendent was recalled to the stand and he corrected the record - saying that in fact his understanding is the murder took place at 7:45pm. It comes after the court has already heard extensive details of phone records corroborate Jonathan Dowdall’s claim that he received a phone call from Patsy Hutch’s wife who informed of what had happened shortly after the murder occurred - at 8:03pm.
Det Superintendent Gallagher told the court today that the investigation into the murder of Eddie Hutch remains open - and confirmed that a number of suspects had been identified. However when asked by Mr Grehan SC if the suspects were “in the jurisdiction” the senior garda said “I would rather not say.”
Earlier in the hearing today the court heard that yet another “curiosity” had emerged overnight. Last week the trial of Mr Hutch was informed of a “curious development” which had been furnished to the Defence by way of a letter.
Separately, reports emerged that were not heard in court that a prisoner had allegedly come forward claiming responsibility for the murder of David Byrne. Today, Prosecuting Counsel Sean Gillane informed the court that another curious matter had developed by way of an email that was sent to a Central Criminal Courts address - but was intended for the Special Criminal Court.
Presiding Judge Ms Justice Tara Burns said the court was not aware of the nature of this development - but added that it is now aware of what the previous one was. Ms Justice Burns said “we know what the last surprise was,” adding that “we couldn’t avoid it over the weekend.”
Mr Grehan SC added that this was “another curiosity” to which Ms Justice Burns said “I’m sure we will probably hear about it again then.” Mr Gillane SC for the Prosecution then added that he hoped that wouldn’t occur.
The court did not hear the details of what this new “curiosity” is, and Mr Grehan SC indicated that it may not be of concern. The court also heard extensive evidence today about the procurement of phone data by garda - specifically call and text records pertaining to several parties involved in the case between January and March of 2016.
The records included phone calls into a phone number attached to the Regency Hotel - as well as records in relation to a phone connected to Jonathan Dowdall, and others connected to his father and wife. The court also heard that the technical evidence of the examination of those phone records can be heard by Thursday.
Sarah Skeed, a senior crime analyst, is set to be called before the court to go through the examination of those phone records - and the triangulation of data which proves the location of those phones, on Thursday.
Her evidence is of particular interest in relation to the pinging off a mast by a phone connected to Jonathan Dowdall - on crucial dates and times following the Regency Hotel shooting. Dowdall alleges that he met with the accused man Gerry Hutch in a park in the Whitehall area of Dublin either on the Sunday or Monday after the shooting - and that Hutch confessed to the murder there.
Before Christmas it emerged during the cross-examination of Mr Dowdall that his phone was pinging off a mast in the Navan Road area at a time he claimed to have been meeting Hutch in the park in Whitehall before midday on February 8. Mr Grehan SC said that the witness had claimed the park meeting happened between 11 and midday and in accordance with an analysis of his phone “it shows it was pinging off the cells on the Navan Road until 11.58am that day and then shows it travels to the M1 towards Dundalk.
"It wasn't the 8th then was it," Dowdall responded. However, records did show that Dowdall’s phone pinged off a cell at Collins Avenue in Whitehall at around 3:16 pm on February 7.
Mr Grehan put it to the witness that there is no support for either allegation of the handing over of the keys cards or the park other than his "say so" and nothing else. Dowdall said the meeting happened and the cards were handed over and "if I'm a little bit off on the time".
"What I'm telling is the truth, the truth is the truth. I wasn't involved in David Byrne's murder, he told me he shot the kid and he met me in the park, do what you want, it's up to the court,” he added.
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