Court hears man charged over killing of prison officer being named in Ga rd a interview tape
A PRE-TRIAL hearing in the case of a Co Tyrone man accused of involvement in the murder of prison officer David Black, heard him being named during recorded Garda interviews of another suspect.
The recordings, being played to Belfast Crown Court, of two garda officers interviewing suspect Stephen Brady may form evidence in the trial of 41-yearold Damien McLaughlin from Kilmascally Road in Dungannon.
He denies charges including aiding and abetting the November 2012 murder of the 52-yearold Mr Black, a father-of-two, possessing the Toyota Camry used by the gunmen and belonging to the IRA.
Mr Justice Colton is being asked to consider if any of the 12 Co Leitrim video recordings of the garda interviews with Mr Brady can form part of the Crown case against McLaughlin.
Several interviews have already been played to Mr Justice Colton. In one Mr Brady was asked if he “helped start the car that was used to murder David Black”, to which he said: “I didn’t know it was going to be used for anything.”
Yesterday in the seventh interview played to the court, the Leitrim man was shown CCTV footage of the garage where he had worked and of him talking to a man a number of times, who also allegedly used his mobile phone.
Mr Brady was then pressed by the garda officers that the man he was seen chatting to was Mr McLaughlin.
While he initially agreed with the officers “the fellow was in the Real IRA”, he believed him to be a member, and that he “knew him by name”, although not personally, he refused to name the man.
At one stage Mr Brady claimed that because of the garda he was either “going to jail or I’m getting f ****** killed”.
“That’s f ****** Damien McLaughlin, is that f ***ing correct?” asked one detective, and when Mr Brady refused to say, the officer came back at him: “It’s either a yes or f ****** no, answer ... that’s Damien McLaughlin from Tyrone.”
Mr Brady repeatedly told his inquisitors: “I told you I’m not saying... you’re saying it’s him.”
Eventually after it was put to him time and again that the man he was seen on the CCTV footage with was Damien McLaughlin, Mr Brady replied: “Yeah.”
He also later agreed with the officers that he knew “Damien McLaughlin to be an IRA member from Tyrone”.