A DUBLIN teenager has been found guilty of manslaughter of his neighbour whom he shot in the chest after the 50-year-old had chased him down a lane wearing a balaclava, because the youth had thrown eggs at his house in the East Wall area of Dublin.
The Central Criminal Court jury found 18-year-old Conor Duffy not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of Aidan O’Kane in December 2008, following just under two and a half hours of deliberations.
They returned a majority 10-1 verdict. Mr O’Kane (50), a mechanic, died after Duffy shot him in the chest with a .375 Magnum revolver he had discovered in undergrowth.
Duffy gave no reaction when the verdict was returned, but stared straight ahead.
His mother, who attended the trial throughout, wiped tears from her eyes.
His father, to whom Duffy confessed to the killing to and who urged his son to tell gardaí the truth, sat next to her.
Mr O’Kane’s only son, Dylan O’Kane (26) who witnessed his father’s shooting and was the prosecution’s main witness in the case, was not present in court for the verdict.
Lawyers for the State had urged the jury to return a verdict of murder, saying Duffy had made a premeditated decision to shoot Mr O’Kane.
They said he had ample opportunity to walk away from the scene, but instead had got a gun, pointed it at Mr O’Kane and pulled the trigger, before making good his escape.
Mr O’Kane had appeared on Shelmalier Road in East Wall on December 7th, 2008 after Duffy and others had egged his house. He was wearing a balaclava and said “I’ll blast yis.” The mechanic had changed into the balaclava and biker jacket and armed himself with a baton, intending to confront the youths, whom the court heard had been harassing him for months.
When he emerged from the house, people began screaming that he had a gun. Duffy, who told gardaí that Mr O’Kane had previously threatened his life, cycled away to get the gun he had discovered, having decided to shoot the mechanic in the leg.
Prior to the killing, he had been on good terms with Mr O’Kane and had been to his house several times to smoke joints. But said he told gardaí they fell out when Mr O’Kane accused him of stealing his bike and threatened to “put him in a wheelchair”.
When he returned with the weapon, he threw his bike down in front of Mr O’Kane and walked into a lane, with his neighbour giving chase.
They stood and faced each other and Duffy said Mr O’Kane said “shoot me” before making a move to take something out of his jacket.
Believing it was a gun and that his life was in danger, Duffy pointed the revolver and shot Mr O’Kane, before fleeing the scene.
Duffy’s defence lawyer, Seán Gillane SC, urged the jury to consider the fact that Duffy was just 15 years old and a “child in law” at the time of the killing.
He said the fact that Mr O’Kane had said “I’ll blast yis” when he left the house was consistent with his desire to frighten and intimidate and ensure the teenagers thought he had a gun.
He said this was especially relevant because it “feeds into (Duffy’s) acquisition of the gun and its use in the laneway”. Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan remanded Duffy bail on condition that he sign on daily and be at home with his parents at 8pm each evening.
The jury also found Duffy guilty on three other counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, and having a firearm without a licence.
He is due to be sentenced on all counts next month.