Gunman (22) guilty of murdering victim in front of his partner
A 22-YEAR-OLD man will be sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of murdering a man by shooting him dead in front of his partner on the driveway of their home.
The jury took six hours and 19 minutes to reach a majority verdict of 11 to one on the murder charge against Warren Nolan, of Rowlagh Park in Clondalkin, Dublin, who shot dead Alan O’Neill (35), at Kiltalown Road, Tallaght, on May 27, 2015.
The jury at the Central Criminal Court also found Nolan guilty by unanimous verdict of setting on fire the car used in the “hit” at Belfry Square in Tallaght on the same date. He had denied both charges.
Nolan did not react to the verdict and was quickly brought away to the cell area by prison officers.
Mr O’Neill’s partner Michelle Usher, who was a key witness for the prosecution and sat through the two-week trial, was comforted by family and friends.
Maddie Grant BL, for the prosecution, said Mr O’Neill’s family will make a statement to the court on January 14 when Justice Paul McDermott will sentence Nolan to the mandatory term for murder of life imprisonment.
Justice McDermott thanked the jurors for their service in what he said was a “difficult” trial and exempted them from jury service for 10 years.
The prosecution relied on CCTV evidence and forensics to secure the conviction of the 22-year-old.
Ms Usher gave evidence that she was in her living room when she saw her partner park his car on the driveway at about 10pm on May 27, 2015.
When Ms Usher saw a people carrier pull up behind it, she leaned closer to the window as she thought it “peculiar”. Then a “dark figure” came into the garden.
He looked like a “young fella” and so when she heard two “really loud bangs” she thought it was a joke until, as she opened the door, she heard another bang, saw a blue flash and a black gun in the dark figure’s hand followed by Mr O’Neill screaming out in pain.
Ms Usher caught hold of Mr O’Neill and brought him in the doorway to the living room while another shot smashed the window of the hall door.
She said: “Everything happened so quickly and I just didn’t believe what was going on.”
Nolan was arrested by gardaí within minutes of the gun attack.