Courts

Garda tells trial about seizing vehicle he suspected was used in Regency Hotel shooting

Court hears of failure to seize Ford key during house search of brother of murder accused Gerard Hutch

Jason Bonney of Drumnigh Wood, Portmarnock, Dublin, at the Special Criminal Court yesterday where his trial continues. He is charged with facilitating a criminal organisation and has pleaded not guilty. Photograph: Collins Courts

Alison O'Riordan
Wed Nov 9 2022 - 19:47

A garda has told the trial of a man accused of participating in the murder of Kinahan Cartel member David Byrne at the Regency Hotel that the accused’s BMW X5 was “spotless and there was a fresh smell coming from inside” when he seized the vehicle two weeks after the shooting.

The Special Criminal Court trial has also heard that a Ford key seen hanging on a rack in the home of Patrick Hutch snr, the brother of murder accused Gerard Hutch, was not seized by gardaí in an error during a first search of the house. Gardaí failed to find the key during a second search two days later.

Gerard Hutch (59), last of The Paddocks, Clontarf, Dublin, denies the murder of Mr Byrne (33) during a boxing weigh-in at the Regency Hotel on February 5th, 2016. Mr Hutch’s two co-accused – Paul Murphy (61), of Cherry Avenue, Swords, Co Dublin, and Jason Bonney (51), of Drumnigh Wood, Portmarnock, Dublin, have pleaded not guilty to participating in or contributing to the murder of Mr Byrne by providing access to motor vehicles on February 5th, 2016.

It is the prosecution’s case that a silver Ford transit van containing six people left the Regency Hotel after the shooting, including three people dressed in tactical Garda clothing. The raiders then made good their escape by using a number of vehicles parked at St Vincent’s GAA club.

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Mr Murphy’s Toyota Avensis taxi and Mr Bonney’s BMW X5 are both alleged to have been part of a convoy that parked at St Vincent’s GAA club grounds before the shooting and then transported the assailants after the Ford transit van was abandoned.

Garda Keith Cassidy told Sean Gillane SC, prosecuting, that he was in Donaghmede on February 20th, 2016, when a BMW X5 “caught his eye” and that he followed the vehicle until it stopped at the back of the Donaghmede Shopping Centre. He said Jason Bonney got out of the car and went in the direction of the centre. He said he satisfied himself that this was the same vehicle associated with the murder of Mr Byrne at the Regency Hotel and he made a decision to seize it.

The witness said it looked like the car had been valeted and cleaned saying: “It was spotless and there was a fresh smell from inside the vehicle”. He said that it looked like it was polished on the outside and a deep clean had been done inside. Mr Bonney then handed him over the key to the 4x4 before it was towed away.

Under cross-examination, Garda Cassidy agreed with John FitzGerald SC, defending Mr Bonney, that his client’s vehicle was seized two weeks into the investigation and that the accused was calm and relaxed at the time.

Asked about his view that the car was cleaned recently, Garda Cassidy said he had opened the car door to see if there was anything inside and it had a “very fresh valet smell; within 24 hours, it was that clean”.

Det Sgt Patrick O’Toole gave evidence that he went to the Criminal Courts of Justice Building on February 25th, 2016, to obtain a search warrant for the home of Patrick Hutch snr, the brother of murder accused Gerard Hutch, at Champions Avenue in Dublin.

The witness said a key for a Ford vehicle, which was observed on a key rack in the hallway of Champions Avenue, had not been recovered by gardaí during the first search of the house two days earlier, on February 23rd, and had not been accounted for by the occupier.

At 11.20am on February 25th, Det Sgt O’Toole said he and five other gardaí went to Champions Avenue. The items seized included an eFlow tag for a motor vehicle, an ACT access controlled card and a log book for a silver Ford Transit van registered to Dowdall Electrical that was found in the bedroom of Patrick Hutch snr.

The witness said he went to Buckingham Village in Dublin’s north inner city and found that the electronic swipe card operated the electric gate which led into the yard at Buckingham Village.

Det Sgt O’Toole said he also attended at the Criminal Courts of Justice Building on March 22nd, 2016, and swore information before Judge Michael Walsh in relation to a house at Buckingham Village on Buckingham Street Upper in Dublin. The detective told the judge that he had reasonable grounds for suspecting that evidence relating to the murder of Mr Byrne was be found there.

It was outlined in the warrant, he said, that the culprits involved in the Regency Hotel attack had used a Ford Transit van to transport the assailants to and from the hotel, that the van had been stored at a car park at Buckingham Village before the murder and that the keys for the Ford Transit van were left with a woman for collection.

The witness executed the warrant two days later on March 24th where they seized a Samsung tablet, a HP laptop and a box containing numerous packets of ACT swipe cards. Four swipe cards were missing from one packet of cards.

Under cross-examination, Det Sgt O’Toole told Bernard Condon SC, defending Mr Murphy, that gardaí had searched Champions Avenue for two hours and 20 minutes on February 23rd and one of his officers had seen a Ford key hanging on a rack in the house but no officer had seized it.

The detective also agreed that he had to go back to the District Court judge two days later on February 25th as gardaí had left the key behind. “It was an error that it was not seized on the day so I went back to court to get a warrant. It was unusual going back to the same address. I informed the judge of my reasons for having to go and that a key had not been seized during the first search”. Gardaí failed to find the Ford key on the rack in their second search on February 25th.

He said that gardaí were looking for anything linked to a burned out Ford Transit van related to the Regency attack as there had been no key left in the ignition.

Det Garda Cathal Connolly testified that he was part of the same search at Buckingham Village on March 24th and seized a box containing ACT swipe cards from the office area within the house. He also located two ACT swipe readers for reading swipe cards.

Mr Byrne, from Crumlin, was shot dead at the hotel in Whitehall, Dublin, after five men, three disguised as armed gardaí in tactical clothing and carrying AK-47 assault rifles, stormed the building during the attack, which was hosting a boxing weigh-in at the time. The victim was shot by two of the assailants. Mr Byrne died after suffering catastrophic injuries from six gunshots fired from a high-velocity weapon to the head, face, stomach, hand and legs.

The trial continues tomorrow before Ms Justice Tara Burns, presiding, sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Grainne Malone.

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