Lawyers say unclear if convicted man was gunman or ‘gopher’

evidence’.

He said the prosecution opened their case on the basis that it was a ‘joint enterprise’ but ended up on the basis that O’Brien was the ‘ triggerman’.

The prosecution was effectively riding two horses, Mr Kavanagh said.

If the jury had a reasonable doubt that O’Brien may not have been the gunman, and the prosecution’s case was that he was the gunman, then he should have been entitled to an acquittal, counsel submitted.

The problem was that O’Brien did not know at this juncture whether he had been convicted of being a gunman or a ‘gopher’ as part of a joint enterprise. That had consequences for him in the future such as when he goes before the parole board, counsel said.

Mr Kavanagh, who appeared with Michelle O’Sullivan BL, submitted that it was an inherent weakness in the procedure and O’Brien’s ‘fair trial rights’ were breached.

Given that the prosecution were ‘riding two horses’, Mr Kavanagh said the jury should have been told by the trial judge to consider the case on a joint enterprise basis if they had a reasonable doubt that he was the gunman.

Mr Kavanagh further submitted that the trial judge erred in ruling that it was not necessary for the arresting garda to invoke search warrant provisions and that personal data was unlawfully obtained from a third party subcontractor rather than directly from the service provider, O2 Telefonica.

Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Alex Owens SC, said the trial judge’s direction to the jury was ‘impeccable’.

Mr Owens said all the evidence pointed to O’Brien being the gunman and his participation in the offence did not start there.

He said O’Brien was ultimately involved in the preparation of the offence and he was the gunman.

If one was to go down the route of requiring juries to be more specific, Mr Owens said ‘you might as well get rid of juries altogether’ because they would be required to give written decisions. That was ‘not the way it works,’ he said.

Mr Justice George Birmingham, who sat with Mr Justice Alan Mahon and Mr Justice John Edwards, said the court would reserve its decision. GARDAI in Arklow have sought the public’s assistance in tracing the whereabouts of a missing teenager.

Seventeen-year-old Lauren Brennan (aka Lauren Larrissey/Lauren Larrissey Brennan) was last seen in Avoca on Thursday last, May 4, at approximately 1 p.m.

She is described as being 5’ 7’’ tall of thin build and with long fair hair. When last seen she was wearing blue jeans, a pink jacket and a white runners.

Anyone who has seen Lauren or who can assist in locating her is asked to contact Arklow Garda Station on 0402-26320, The Garda Confidential Telephone Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station. A MAN was arrested following an incident at an Arklow deli which concluded with a garda search on the north side of the town.

The incident took place last Tuesday, May 2, at approximately 11 a.m. when a man entered the ‘Delightfully Delicious’ delicatessen and walked straight towards the toilets at the rear of the premises.

A short time later, a staff member saw the man emerging from the private staff area.

When the man realised he had been seen and staff questioned him, he became extremely aggressive and defensive and shouted at the workers before fleeing the premises.

Both staff and customers were left shaken by the encounter, though physically unharmed.

The man ran towards Stringer’s Lane and the gardaí were notified.

Following a search of the area, they apprehended a man and detained him at Arklow Garda Station for questioning before he was released. A file is to be sent to the DPP in the matter.