Limerick man found guilty of murder

A notorious former Limerick gangland member has been found guilty of the murder of one of his associates.

Gary Campion (26) was a passenger in a car when he shot 'Fat' Frankie Ryan (21) twice through the back of the head in Delmege Park, Moyross, on the evening of September 17th, 2006.

Campion, of Pineview Gardens, Moyross, had only been released from jail on the previous Friday after serving a two year sentence for threatening to kill a prison officer.

Both Campion and Ryan were members of the McCarthy-Dundon gangs and they had fallen out allegedly over a remark that Mr Ryan made to a member of Campion's family.

Campion's brother Noel, a major drug dealer, was shot dead in April 2007 and another brother Willie is serving life for the torture and murder of Clareman Paud Skehan in 1998.

On the day he died, Ryan had been driving or "spinning" around the Moyross estate in his red Toyota Carina when he gave a lift to Campion.

Campion shot him once through the back of the head and then outside the driver's door in what prosecution counsel Aileen Donnelly SC called a "cold, calculated and deliberate gunning down" and an "execution-style killing".

Campion, a father-of-two, was one of the best-known gangland figure in Limerick and had a list of 70 previous convictions dating back to 1998.

He is already serving a life sentence for the murder of Limerick bouncer Brian Fitzgerald who was shot dead in November 2002. Campion, who had driven the getaway motorbike for gunman James Cahill, was convicted of that murder in November 2007.

Tthe jury took eight hours and 10 minutes to deliver a majority murder verdict by a margin of 10-2 today.

Earlier, the jury of six men and six women were told by Mr Justice Paul Carney that he would accept a majority verdict.

Campion spat on the floor and muttered "corrupt bastards" to members of his family who were sitting behind him when the verdict was announced.

The case lasted 28 days spread over 12 weeks and was one of the first where specific gangland legislation was used to secure a conviction.

The Criminal Justice Act 2006 allows the admission of videotaped evidence even if that evidence is materially inconsistent with a previous statement or a statement made in court.

The only key witness was Erol Ibrahim (20) who was the front seat passenger in Frankie Ryan's car when Campion shot him dead.

He gave 11 interviews to Gardai. In the first six he denied knowing the identity of the person in the back of the car.

He was arrested and taken into custody for withholding information about the killing of Mr Ryan.

He changed his evidence after a meeting with Frankie Ryan's brother Peter who told him he would not be regarded locally as a "rat" if he told gardaí who pulled the trigger.

In subsequent interviews, Ibrahim named Campion as the person who had killed Frankie Ryan.

However, in his second day of giving evidence in court, Ibrahim said he had never seen the person who killed Frankie Ryan before and could not identify him.

He said previous evidence to gardaí had been a "load of lies" which he had given just to get out of Garda custody. The killer would have shot him too had he known who he was, Ibrahim told the jury under cross-examination. The defence maintained that Ibrahim was an unreliable witness who could not be trusted.

The State made an application under the Criminal Justice Act 2006 to have the video tape evidence of statements made by Ibrahim in custody viewed by the jury.

The jury was sent out for three weeks as the videotape evidence was reviewed before Mr Justice Paul Carney. He ruled that it should be shown in its entirety to the jury.

In his summing up, Mr Justice Carney said the case was unusual in that the "essential evidence" was on videotape and was directly contradicted by what the key witness was saying in court.

He remanded Campion in custody for sentencing on July 8th at Limerick Courthouse and to allow for the preparation of a victim impact statement.