AN ADDITIONAL sentence of eight months in prison was imposed on John Gilligan yesterday after he was found guilty at a sitting of Portlaoise District Court of possessing a mobile phone in his Portlaoise Prison cell.
After 48 District Court appearances and a High Court appeal, the 59-year-old convicted criminal was sentenced to a further jail term for illegally possessing a Nokia mobile phone in his cell on July 30th, 2008.
Prison officers searched Gilligan’s cell after an officer heard a conversation in the cell late at night on July 29th, 2008.
The phone was found along with a phone charger, a Sim card, a number of pills, a syringe part and two pairs of women’s underwear.
The court was told Gilligan had spent almost one-third of his life in prison and has been behind bars for 18 of the last 20 years.
Counsel for the defence Niall Flynn claimed his client had “changed his character” since being imprisoned and had even become friendly with some prison officers.
Judge Gerard Haughton, who presided over the 21-month trial, said he was “satisfied that the prosecution have established that a Nokia mobile phone was found in the cell”.
“The prosecution case that the phone was found in the prisoner’s cell has been established beyond reasonable doubt,” he told the court.
Records proved the mobile phone “could only be used by the defendant, thereby establishing possession,” he added.
“Although the defendant has alleged he was set up, it was never put to any of the witnesses who were called. His allegation that he was set up is just that,” he said.
In the course of the case, the judge said the defendant had “sought to turn this trial into an investigation into the conduct of the prison authorities”.
He said he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that “there is sufficient evidence of possession within the charge”.
Prior to sentencing, Det Garda Pat Scully outlined the defendant’s 28 previous convictions. He told the court Gilligan was due for release on April 15th, 2013.
Mr Flynn asked the judge to consider giving his client a concurrent sentence.
“Of the past 20 years, Mr Gilligan has spent in or around 18 years in custody,” he said.
“I would submit that this offence is of a minor nature . . . He has almost spent a third of his life in custody,” Mr Flynn said.
His client had not been convicted of any offence since 2001, he said, adding Gilligan had been compliant with investigating gardaí and had “become friendly with prison officers”.
“I believe the length of time that he is currently serving, a 22-year sentence, should be taken into consideration,” Mr Flynn said.
“Mr Gilligan has somewhat changed since he went to prison. He has been reduced from a maximum-security prisoner to a medium-security prisoner.”
The judge said it was “incumbent on me to order that the sentence be consecutive”. If a concurrent sentence were imposed “there would be no deterrent” for prisoners”, he said.
He sentenced Gilligan to eight months in prison “to commence on the lawful termination” of his prison sentence.
Recognisance was fixed at €300 in case of an appeal.
Gardaí have forwarded a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions following the discovery of two mobile phones at Portlaoise District Court in March 30th, 2010. The phones were found in the courtroom on a day Gilligan was defending himself on the mobile phone charge.
LIFE OF CRIME: SENTENCES FOR DRUGS AND THREAT TO KILL
JOHN GILLIGAN has been in custody since the mid-1990s. In October 1996, Gilligan was detained by British authorities as he passed through Heathrow airport with £330,000 in cash.
He was extradited back to Ireland, where he was convicted and sentenced to 28 years in prison on drugs charges in March 2001. He was found not guilty of the murder in 1996 of Veronica Guerin. His sentence was backdated to 1996. An appeal was lodged with the Court of Criminal Appeal and the sentence was reduced to 20 years in 2003.
In the meantime, Gilligan was convicted of threatening to kill two prison officers in March 2001. He was convicted at the Special Criminal Court in June 2002 and received two two-year sentences for the offence.
Last week he failed to have his detention in Portlaoise Prison declared unlawful during a High Court action taken against the prison governor, DPP and Attorney General.