A 26-year-old man has been jailed for eight years for the manslaughter of a father of eight by keeping lookout while he was beaten and shot to death.
Ross Allen, a father of two, from Clara, Co Offaly was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter last month for his part in the killing of Christy Daly on December 29th 2013. The 47-year-old was killed beside the caravan where he lived at Bog Lane in Clara.
Allen, who - the court heard - was born suffering the ill-effects of hard drugs, had spent five weeks on trial at the Central Criminal Court.
Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy noted Wednesday morning that he had been prosecuted for murder on the premise that he was engaged in a common purpose to kill. However, the jury was not satisfied that he was, and he said that the case was to be regarded as an assault manslaughter.
The judge acknowledged that Mr Daly had a “rather checkered” life and had finished serving a prison sentence shortly before his death.
He said that no victim impact statement had been supplied, which he suggested might reflect his isolation in society.
The deceased began living in a caravan on Bog Lane. Unbeknownst to him, the accused hid €30,000 worth of cannabis in the area for people involved in seriously gangland activity. The trial heard that this was one of the odd jobs he did to pay for his cannabis habit.
He noted that the drugs had gone missing and the blame was put on the deceased. The accused said he was afraid of being blamed and that his life would be in jeopardy.
Allen co-operated on the night in what he knew would be violence. He collected the car used, had a meeting before the attack and recovered a sawn-off shotgun. He was also aware that a person in the back of the car was carrying a semi-automatic pistol. The judge described this as the fatal firearm.
He told gardaí that he thought the guns were for protection and not to kill Mr Daly and he acted as a lookout while other people attacked the deceased, who was shot eight times. He burnt the car the next day.
“Undoubtedly, he was murdered by people other than the accused,” said the judge.
He made admissions when arrested, but did not identify the murderers. He said he had drug debts to them and was in fear.
The judge said that Allen undoubtedly had an extremely troubled life. He noted that he had been born, suffering from the ill-effects of hard drugs; he was the son of drug addicts.
He spent his first seven years in different foster homes and was still hungry when he finally got a stable foster home. He became homeless at 17.
He noted that, while on remand in prison, he had done a number of courses and charitable work.
“I think there’s hope for the future,” he said, noting that a reference from his partner had described their young child as a stabilising factor. He also acknowledged his good work record.
The judge described his offence as very grave because of the use of firearms, and that violence was to be inflicted by people engaged in serious criminal activity. He said his degree of culpability was high.
He imposed a 10-year sentence, but suspended the final two years on condition he keep the peace, be of good behaviour and co-operate with the probation services for four years following his release. He said that this was his way of holding a light at the end of the tunnel for him.
He backdated the sentence for 15 months, the time he has already served.
No member of Mr Daly’s family was in court for the sentencing. A number of Allen’s supporters were present and left as Allen was led away by prison officers.