Gardaí believe garda killer Aaron Brady was the driving force in a conspiracy that saw sensitive evidence during his capital murder trial being circulated online, along with threats to a witness, and are confident he will be convicted and his lengthy prison sentence extended.
The 29-year-old father of one from south Armagh was jailed yesterday for 40 years for the capital murder of Det Garda Adrian Donohoe in Co Louth 7½ years ago.
Brady was also jailed for 14 years, to run concurrently, for his role in the armed robbery on Lordship Credit Union, Bellurgan, during which the detective was shot dead.
Garda sources said any prison sentence imposed on Brady in the event he was convicted for trying to pervert the course of justice and intimidate a witness could run consecutively to his 40-year term, as was the case with former gang leader John Gilligan who was convicted for threatening prison officers.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the other four men who were with Brady on the night of the murder and were part of the conspiracy to rob Lordship Credit Union at gunpoint was continuing, with one senior source saying it was “very much boosted” by Brady’s conviction.
Contradictory statements
Some of the evidence used to convict Brady, including sightings of him, his contradictory statements and telephone location and use were also available for at least two other suspects and gardaí believe others will be charged.
Yesterday at the Central Criminal Court, Dublin, the longer tariff of 40 years, rather than a traditional life sentence for murder, was imposed on Brady by Mr Justice Michael White because of the capital murder conviction, which means killing a Garda member on duty.
However, rulings in the Supreme Court in 2013 mean Brady will be entitled to 25 per cent remission, or 10 years off his sentence. If he has a good behavioural record in prison, that remission could be increased to a third of his sentence. The Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that even prisoners jailed for killing gardaí were entitled to automatic 25 per cent remission, like all prisoners, and were also eligible to apply for enhanced, or earned, remission.
However, gardaí believe the investigation into the effort to derail Brady’s trial and intimidate a witness can ensure he is jailed for additional time, with four suspects having already been questioned, one of them strongly linked to the Kinahan cartel.
Witness statement
During the murder trial a video was taken on a mobile phone of a witness statement to the Garda, which was included in the book of evidence. The footage was then posted on social media with remarks attached calling the witness a “tout”.
Gardaí believe the video was filmed in a prison in Dublin using a smuggled-in mobile phone. Gardaí also suspect the video was circulated in a bid to intimidate the witness and to derail, and possibly collapse, the trial.
Brady was found guilty of the capital murder of Det Garda Adrian Donohoe by an 11-to-one majority jury verdict on August 11th. He was also convicted of involvement in the robbery of €7,000 at Lordship Credit Union in Bellurgan, Co Louth, on January 25th, 2013.
Det Garda Donohoe, a 41-year-old married father of two, was shot dead shortly after arriving at Lordship Credit Union, Bellurgan, Co Louth, on the night of Friday, January 25th, 2013.
He and his colleague, Det Garda Joe Ryan, were providing an armed escort for Credit Union staff taking money to a night safe.
Brady, from Crossmaglen, was part of a five-man gang laying in wait in the credit union car park to steal the cash. Four of the gang members emerged from behind a wall in the car park and Brady ran at Det Garda Donohoe, fatally shooting him.
