A MAN charged with the manslaughter of an Estonian national admitted to gardaí that his vehicle was at the scene of the attack but said he was not there.
The Dublin Circuit Court jury also heard that suspected crack cocaine found in the accused’s cell while he was being detained during questioning by gardaí was never analysed or examined.
Paul Gibbons (27), of Moatview Drive, Priorswood, has pleaded not guilty to unlawfully killing Valeri Ranert (27) at Naul Road, Swords on April 30th, 2007. He has also pleaded not guilty to unlawfully seizing by force the Golf belonging to Mr Ranert on the same occasion.
Mr Gibbons is alleged to be the driver of a car that arrived at the layby near Dublin airport.
Michael Durack SC, prosecuting, earlier told the jury it is not the State’s case that Mr Gibbons had gotten out of the car or that he was involved in the assault but that this was a “joint enterprise” in which a number of people were “in it to do the same thing together”.
Mr Gibbons was shown a number of exhibits during the course of one of his Garda interviews and denied that a pair of burned tracksuit bottoms and runners were his. He said he did not recognise a set of car keys shown to him. When presented with a mobile phone that gardaí claimed had been left behind at the scene, the accused replied that he had never seen it before.
Mr Gibbons also said he did not recognise the victim’s jacket, which gardaí said had been thrown from Mr Ranert’s car, or the victim’s driving licence, laser card and another set of car keys.
Det David Nolan told Mr Durrack that Mr Gibbons said during an interview: “They must have been there with my car but I was not there.”
When asked if he knew how the blue Ford Fiesta was later found burned out, the accused said that a “young fella” had robbed it.