State witness Charles Bowden told the Special Criminal Court yesterday that Mr Brian Meehan, the man accused of murdering journalist Veronica Guerin, told him on the day of the killing that it was " a good job".
Bowden said he met Mr Meehan in a restaurant in Moore Street shortly after the murder and Meehan said to him: "It was a good job this morning. I thought he was only going to fire one or two shots at her but he emptied it into her. Fair play to him. We legged it up the Belgard Road on the bike."
Bowden, who is under the Witness Protection Programme, said that before the murder Mr Meehan instructed him to clean and load a Magnum .357 revolver.
It was the 12th day of the trial of Mr Meehan (34), of no fixed abode, and formerly of Clifton Court, Dublin and Stanaway Road, Crumlin, Dublin who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Guerin (36), at Naas Road, Clondalkin, Dublin on June 26th, 1996. Mr Meehan also denies 16 other charges alleging that he unlawfully imported cannabis resin into the State on various dates between July 1st, 1994 and October 6th, 1996, that he unlawfully possessed cannabis resin for the purpose of sale or supply on the same dates and that on or about October 3rd, 1996 he had cannabis resin for sale or supply.
He has also pleaded not guilty to having a Sten submachine gun, silencer barrel, two magazines, a 9mm Agram machine pistol, five Walther semi-automatic pistols, four magazines and 1,057 rounds of assorted ammunition with intent to endanger life at Oldcourt Road, Tallaght, Dublin between November 10th, 1995 and October 3rd, 1996.
Bowden told Mr Eamonn Leahy SC, prosecuting, that there had been several discussions among the drugs gang about Veronica Guerin and a court case she was taking against the gang's leader, who can only be identified as Mr A. During one discussion, when he was in a car with Mr Meehan in the Strawberry Beds area, Mr Meehan asked him if the .357 Magnum was in the grave at the cemetery in Oldcourt Road where the gang stored guns and ammunition. The week before the murder Bowden said he was in the lock-up in Harold's Cross used by the gang to distribute cannabis, with Mr Meehan and another man, Mr D, and there was a discussion that another man, Mr B, had told Mr Meehan that Ms Guerin was appearing in court in Naas on a driving offence. Mr Meehan said he would have someone watching her going to and coming from the court.
The weekend before the murder Mr Meehan told Bowden that he and Paul Ward had gone to the graveyard and found the Magnum. Meehan told him that Mr A had decided to "threaten" Ms Guerin "or something along those lines" and that Mr Meehan had offered to do it himself. "He had decided to shoot her or to have something done about her," he said. "He (Meehan) had offered to do it himself but because (a man identified as Mr E) owed Mr A a favour, he had chosen him to carry out this," he added. Bowden said that the day before the murder he was instructed by Mr Meehan to clean and load the Magnum revolver and he went to the Harold's Cross lock-up where he saw the gun and 12 bullets on a table. He cleaned the gun and loaded it with six bullets and left six spare bullets.
"It was going to be used to either shoot or shoot at Ms Guerin the following day, either going to or coming from court," he said. The day after the murder he went to the lock-up and saw a plastic bag with the six spare bullets but the Magnum was not there. Bowden said the cannabis distribution operation continued until his arrest in October 1996 and he spent six weeks in prison before getting bail. After he got bail he was in contact with Mr Meehan frequently.
Bowden said he was told to go to Paul Ward's house where he, Mr D, Mr Meehan, Paul Ward and Brendan Fegan counted hundreds of thousands of pounds. The money was collected by the man who allegedly shot Ms Guerin, Mr E, and brought to Mr A.
Cross examined by Mr John McCrudden QC, for Mr Meehan, Bowden said that he had been given no release date and denied that he was trying to "stitch up" an innocent man.