A man accused of beating Mr Josie Dwyer to death told gardai a vigilante threatened to burn down his home if he named other people involved in the attack, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.
Mr Mark Cooke told gardai he had originally lied about his whereabouts on the night of the killing because he was afraid after a man threatened to petrol bomb his "gaff".
It was the 13th day of the manslaughter trial of Mr Hugh Byrne (33), Dolphin House; Mr Cooke (25), Dolphin House; Mr John Fitzpatrick (35), Fatima Mansions; and Mr William Kenny (55), St Anthony's Road, all Rialto. The four have also been charged with assaulting and injuring Mr Alan Byrne and with violent disorder on May 14th, 1996.
Det Garda Con Cronin read from an interview with Mr Cooke in which he said he had kicked Mr Dwyer, a drug addict, once on the ground and said he didn't know why he had done so.
In the interview Mr Cooke said a man, identified as "C", hit Mr Alan Byrne a number of times with a small baseball bat. He said another man, "K", had "lost it" and was "laying into" Mr Dwyer and Mr Byrne.
Cross-examined by Mr Anthony Sammon SC, defending, Det Garda Cronin denied threatening Mr Cooke that unless he co-operated he would be put into a cell in Mountjoy with an open door open so "junkies" could come in. Asked why Mr Cooke's account of the attack differed so greatly from the findings of the State Pathologist, Prof John Harbison, Det Garda Cronin said gardai had recorded Mr Cooke's perception of the events. Garda Owen Healy told Mr Tom O'Connell, prosecuting, he had recorded the Cronin-Cooke interview and there was no substance to the suggestion that Mr Cooke had been threatened by Det Garda Cronin or any other garda.
In cross-examination by Mr Sammon, Garda Healy denied that Mr Cooke had been forced to tell gardai he kicked Josie Dwyer. Forensic scientist Dr Martina McBride said she found no traces of blood on boots worn by Mr Cooke on the night of Mr Dwyer's death.
Earlier, Det Sgt John Doyle denied Mr Sammon's suggestion that he had fabricated details of another interview in which Mr Cooke was recorded as saying he was at Basin Lane while Mr Josie Dwyer was being attacked. Det Sgt Doyle also denied that he had "trapped" himself by fabricating answers for Mr Cooke that were in strong contrast to Prof Harbison's findings.
Det Garda Christy McKiernan told Mr O'Connell he would not have recorded notes of an interview that were not correct.
The trial continues before Judge Dominic Lynch and a jury.