THREE MEN have been convicted of carrying out a €2.28 million “tiger kidnapping” robbery four years ago following one of the longest criminal trials in the history of the State.
The men kidnapped at gunpoint the family of a Securicor worker during the robbery in March 2005. The 67-day trial concluded in Blanchardstown courthouse, west Dublin, last night after the jury had deliberated for 22 hours over three days. Three of five men on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court were convicted of four counts of false imprisonment and one count of robbery.
The jury failed to agree any verdicts in relation to two other men.
The trial of the five cost an estimated €10 million in legal fees. The men were all on free legal aid meaning the State will pay for the cost of the prosecution and defence.
The three convicted men who have been remanded in custody by Judge Tony Hunt for sentence later are: Christopher Corcoran (61), of Bayside Boulevard North, Bayside; Mark Farrelly (37), of Moatview Court, Priorswood; and Jason Kavanagh (34), of Parslickstown Court, Ladyswell.
The jury failed to reach a verdict on the charges against David Byrne (36) of Old Brazeel Way, Knocksedan, Swords, and Niall Byrne (27), of Aughavanagh Road, Crumlin.
Niall Byrne was a Securicor worker at the time of the robbery and was alleged in court to be the gang’s “inside man”. There were angry scenes following the verdicts last night as some of the men’s supporters shouted at gardaí. Armed and uniformed Garda reinforcements had been called in.
The men had denied robbing €2.28 million from Paul Richardson and Securicor, and had also pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning members of the Richardson family – Marie Richardson and her sons, Ian (then 17) and Kevin (then 13) – on March 13th and 14th, 2005.
Two other Dublin men wanted by gardaí for questioning are now living in the Philippines.
Mrs Richardson and her sons were taken from their home at Ashcroft, Raheny, at gunpoint and held in Cloon Wood near Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, until her husband gave the gang €2.28 million from a Securicor van on which he worked as a crew member.
Judge Hunt thanked the jury of seven men and four women for their work. Prosecuting counsel Denis Vaughan Buckley SC (with Dominic McGinn BL) asked for the men to be remanded in custody pending sentence in November.
Day four of the scheduled trial was reached before the jury was assembled. Only 10 jurors could be selected on the first day out of a panel of 150, and two more were selected on April 21st from a new panel. Then, one of the selected jurors indicated she couldn’t remain due to work problems and the trial proper had to be adjourned to April 26th. The jurors were transported from the Four Courts to Blanchardstown and back again every day they sat.
The trial revolved around three main points of evidence: DNA tests, CCTV footage and mobile phone tracking. Det Insp Martin Mooney told Mr McGinn that, using call trace data from service providers, he was able to draw up charts showing the times, duration and general location of mobile phone calls between a small group of numbers during the robbery.
REACTION: 'It has brought closure'
PAUL RICHARDSON described the raid during which he and his family were kidnapped at gunpoint and the period since as being "very hard". He said he and his wife, Marie, and their two sons Kevin and Ian – who were 13 and 17 at the time of the robbery – were now determined to move on. "It's been a very traumatic time for over four years for my wife, my two sons and myself," Mr Richardson said. He thanked the Garda, the jury and his the State's legal team.
He was also very grateful to his family's friends.
Marie Richardson said: "We have to move on. It has brought closure. There has been a sense of relief. It's over . . . We did [get justice]."