The lifelong friend of a man accused of murder shot him because he thought he wanted to die rather than go into prison, the friend said in a statement to gardai, a court has been told.
The jury in the trial of Mr Paul McCarthy, who denies murdering Mr Martin Comerford, also heard that in an earlier statement Mr McCarthy said his plan was to shoot and wound his friend, who talked him into doing it by claiming the ammunition was "pepper shot" and by turning the gun to aim at his chest.
In the statement, Mr McCarthy said that as he pointed a sawn-off double-barrelled shotgun at his friend's legs, Mr Comerford turned the gun to his chest and told him: "There, there!"
In the Central Criminal Court trial, Mr McCarthy (37) has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Martin Comerford (36).
On the day his body was found, Mr Comerford was due to go on trial for the murder of another Dublin man, Mr Anthony Beatty.
Mr Comerford's body was found at the bottom of a laneway at the rear of Ontario Terrace, Ranelagh, on the morning of Monday, April 26th, 1999. He had been shot at very close range, the Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, has said.
Details of the shooting came in a statement to gardai on May 11th, 1999, when Mr McCarthy was in detention in Terenure Garda station.
In the statement, Mr McCarthy said Mr Comerford first spoke to him of ways he could avoid his trial on Sunday, April 25th, 1999, the day before it was due to begin. Mr Comerford asked him to shoot and wound him while they were drinking in a local pub, he said.
He said Mr Comerford repeated the suggestion later, but Mr McCarthy was concerned he would accidentally cause him serious injury.
"He assured me that he had what he called pepper shot", the statement continued.
"As I lifted the gun, I pointed it at his leg, from a couple of feet away", he said. At that point, Mr McCarthy's statement continued, Mr Comerford took hold of the gun barrel and pointed it towards his chest, saying, "There, there!"
"We were both very drunk. I just closed my eyes and pulled the trigger", the statement said.
He forced the shotgun back into a hold-all bag and walked quickly back to the flats. He then hid the gun in an ESB storeroom on the ground floor of the flats and dialled 999 from a phone box, he said.
The trial continues today.