A Dublin man poured 10 litres of petrol into the public office of a Garda station, set it alight and sped away from the scene, leaving a garda sergeant caught up in the ensuing fire, the Central Criminal Court heard yesterday. Sgt Andrew Callanan was burned to death in the arson attack on Tallaght Garda station in July 1999.
Yesterday was the opening day of the trial of Mr Daniel O'Toole (38), of Cashel Avenue, Crumlin, Dublin, who denies that, on July 21st 1999, he murdered Sgt Callanan, contrary to Section 3 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1990 (formerly capital murder).
The penalty for the murder of a garda acting in the course of his duties carries an automatic penalty of 40 years' imprisonment.
A simple charge of murder was also put to Mr O'Toole as an alternative. He pleaded not guilty to both counts of murder but guilty to manslaughter, a charge the State refused to accept.
The jury was told that Mr O'Toole walked into Tallaght Garda station in the early hours of the morning of July 21st 1999 carrying two five-litre canisters of petrol and two flares. Mr Michael Durack SC, prosecuting, said that Mr O'Toole lit the flares and told the officer on duty, Garda John Malone, that he had "two minutes to get out".
Mr O'Toole then punctured one of the canisters with a penknife and poured the contents over the counter. Garda Malone ran into the back office and called to Sgt Callanan for help. The sergeant rushed out with a fire extinguisher and pointed it towards Mr O'Toole, who had poured the contents of the second canister on to the floor.
Garda Val Flynn tried to assist his colleagues, but was blown back by a sudden burst of flames. Sgt Callanan took the full blast of the flames and was blown back towards the door of the office, Mr Durack said. He was pronounced dead at 5.31 a.m.
Counsel claimed that Mr O'Toole ran to his car and fled the scene, heading for Donamore Crescent, Tallaght, where he was then living. A 999 call at 5.19 a.m., inquiring if the garda∅ were all right, was traced to Mr O'Toole's mobile phone. The caller admitted that he had been at the station.
The garda∅ rang Mr O'Toole at about 7.30 a.m. and met him near his father's house in Cashel Avenue 30 minutes later. Mr O'Toole was admitted to hospital, where he was treated for burns. He was released on August 4th and was subsequently charged with causing the death of Sgt Callanan.
Mr Durack said that the court would hear evidence of allegations of inter-familial assault, which led to Mr O'Toole being barred from the family home the previous October. Ms Bernadette O'Toole left her husband and she and their four children moved to Enniscorthy, Co Wexford. The day before Sgt Callanan was killed, Mr O'Toole met his wife and children in Dublin, but they had a row.
It was accepted by the defence that there was an unlawful killing in that Mr O'Toole had brought the petrol to the Garda station and ignited it. The crucial issue was the question of intent and if Mr O'Toole knew that the potential victim was a garda, Mr Durack told the jury.
The trial continues today.