A witness has told a court that the manager of a post office, who is on trial for perverting the course of justice, had confessed to him that he had tampered with a urine sample in a drink-driving case.
Joe Miley, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, whose son Mark is a postman, outlined details of a series of conversations he had with post office manager Kevin Rogers on March 28th last year.
He was giving evidence at Roscommon Circuit Criminal Court where Mr Rogers (50), Mote Park, Roscommon, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of interfering or tampering with potential evidence on March 5th, 2012.
The court has heard that a urine sample had been taken from Michael Lyons, another Roscommon post office worker and a friend of Mr Rogers, arising from a road traffic incident on March 3rd. Evidence was heard on the first day of the trial from Mark Miley in which he said that Mr Rogers had pushed a box inside his jacket at Roscommon post office on March 5th with instructions to say nothing to anybody and to “deny all”.
Officials from the Medical Bureau of Road Safety in Dublin, which analyses samples taken in Garda prosecutions, have said the box had been interfered with and there was no urine in the sample bottle. It appeared to have been subjected to heat and pressure and analysis was not possible.
Yesterday, Joe Miley said that two men had called to his home on March 28th looking for his son. He contacted Mr Rogers, who was his son’s boss, as he was concerned that his son had gone off in a car with the men. Mr Rogers, who was a family friend, later came back to him and said he was afraid his son had been a victim of a tiger kidnapping.
Mr Miley said he drove in to the post office and arranged for Mr Rogers to talk to him in his car. He said Mr Rogers looked gaunt as he approached. “He said ‘it’s Smack’s urine sample’.” Smack was Michael Lyons. Mr Miley said he asked if his son had tampered with it. “He said ‘No, no, no. I did it. Mark did nothing’.”
Mr Miley told the court that Mr Rogers said they had “nothing on camera” and he expressed concern that his job was on the line.