Two men to be sentenced for conspiring to murder Dublin teenager
Ryan Dunne
Two men have appeared before the Central Criminal Court, having pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder a teenage boy on Dublin’s southside in 2021.
Stephen Mulvey (34) and Jamie Berry (30), both of Leo Fitzgerald House, Dublin, pleaded guilty that on dates between February 23rd and 24th, 2021, both dates inclusive, at Eugene Street in Dublin, they did conspire to murder a teenager.
At their sentencing hearing on Monday, Detective Garda Richard Pender gave evidence to counsel for the State, Eilis Brennan SC, that a taxi driver was picking up the teenager, who was 17 at the time, when a man approached and shot the victim in the neck and upper body, with four to five shots fired.
Det Pender confirmed that the victim suffered major life-threatening injuries, which would have been fatal if not for medical intervention. The victim gave evidence at the original trial, saying that he did not remember anything about the shooting.
The detective said that eyewitnesses saw two men running from the scene, one holding a gun, with one man being heard to say: “Go on, finish him.”
CCTV footage showed a car leaving the area, and a few minutes later there was a flash of light and the vehicle erupted in flames on another street. A firearm was found in the backseat of this car, with forensic evidence establishing that it was used in a shooting.
The two defendants were subsequently stopped in a black BMW with a third man who was the driver, as the gardaí formed the view that the men were trying to hide something.
At the garda station, Berry was found to have a pair of gardening gloves that contained a large amount of firearms residue, with a forensic expert finding that these gloves were probably worn by the shooter, Det Pender said.
Det Pender confirmed that Berry failed to account for his possession of these gloves with the firearm residue on them. The detective also said that the injured party in the shooting had declined to make a victim impact statement.
The two defendants originally stood trial in March 2023 for attempted murder, where it was the State's case that Berry was the shooter, while Mulvey was allegedly assisting along with another male not before the courts.
However, at the close of the prosecution’s case, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon acceded to an application by the defence to direct an acquittal of the men due to a lack of evidence against them.
This was subsequently successfully appealed by the Director of Public Prosecutions in February 2024, with the Court of Appeal ruling upheld by the Supreme Court, who directed a retrial. Before the retrial commenced, both defendants entered guilty pleas to the current charge.
Det Pender said that Berry had six previous convictions while Mulvey had 91.
Defence counsel for Berry, Hugh Hartnett SC, said that his client had a history of employment, while testimonials were handed into court on his behalf.
Counsel for Mulvey, Garret Baker SC said that there had been a circumstantial case against the defendants, with “mounds of CCTV” footage but none that actually placed them at the locus of the crime at the critical time.
While there was firearm residue on the gloves found on Berry, Mr Baker said there was a complete absence of forensic evidence against Mulvey, but the matter was treated as a joint enterprise. Mr Baker also said that the victim “was actively disinterested in giving evidence” at the original trial.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott remanded both men in custody until Tuesday, February 3rd, for sentencing.
