Patrick Hutch barrister says Garda could have been influenced by press coverage

A garda asked to make a statement about how two detectives identified Patrick Hutch might have been “influenced” by press coverage of the trial, a barrister has told the Special Criminal Court.

The defence is objecting to evidence that two detectives identified Mr Hutch as the man dressed as a woman and holding a gun outside the Regency Hotel in Dublin on the day of a fatal shooting there.

Mr Hutch (25) of Champions Avenue, Dublin 1, is pleading not guilty to the murder of David Byrne (34) at the Regency on February 5th, 2016.

He also denies possessing three AK47 assault rifles in connection with the shooting.

It is the prosecution’s case that Mr Hutch was the man dressed as a woman and that he did not shoot Mr Byrne but was part of a “shared intention” to commit the offence.

The shooting took place, the court has heard, during a boxing weigh-in at the hotel, when the man dressed as a woman and another wearing a flat cap raided the venue armed with handguns and followed by three people dressed in tactical-style Garda uniforms and carrying assault rifles.

The defence is objecting to evidence that two detectives identified Mr Hutch as the man dressed as a woman after they had looked at the picture, which had been taken by a photographer contracted to the Sunday World who was at the hotel to cover the weigh-in.

Michael O’Higgins SC, representing the accused, said on Friday that a State witness, the garda who showed the picture to the detectives, could have been influenced by press coverage of the trial.

He mentioned a report from the Irish Independent, published on January 17th, which described how the detectives Fergal O'Flaherty and Jonathan Brady had made the identification.

The barrister said his concern was that the witness had seen the report and now knew exactly what the issues with the evidence were.

On Thursday, Garda Michael Ryan had been asked to make a statement on what had happened when the detectives identified the accused man in the photo.

On Friday, Garda Ryan, of Ballymun Garda station, told prosecuting counsel Sean Gillane SC that two days after the fatal shooting, Detectives O’Flaherty and Brady came to his office and viewed the photo.

The court heard that while Det Garda Brady was in the room Det Garda O’Flaherty looked at the picture and said he recognized the person on the left but did not name him.

Garda Ryan said Det Garda O’Flaherty then left the office and was not in the room when Det Garda Brady viewed the image and identified Mr Hutch.

Mr O’Higgins asked the witness under cross-examination if there was any doubt that when Det Garda Brady looked at the picture, Det Garda O’Flaherty was out of the room.

“None whatsoever,” Garda Ryan replied.

The barrister then read to the witness the report from the Irish Independent describing the detectives making the identification separately.

“Did you read that?” Mr O’Higgins asked.

"If it was two days ago in the Independent, I would have read that," Garda Ryan said.

He later added: “I would read pretty much all the articles in the app. I would safely say that I did.”

When asked if the report had made any "impression" on him, the garda said that he had read all the articles on the RTÉ, the Journal and the Irish Independent apps.

The trial resumes on Monday.