The Garda informer who made false statements implicating two innocent men in the death of Mr Richie Barron has been sentenced at Letterkenny Circuit Court.
Judge Pat McCartan yesterday sentenced William Doherty, Doorable, Manorcunningham, to three years in prison for making a false statement at Letterkenny Garda station in November 1996, while "tending to show" that an assault had been committed.
He was sentenced to a further two years for making a "menacing" phone call to Mr Frank McBrearty snr, Tullyrap, Raphoe, in November 1996 and two years for committing perjury at Letterkenny District Court in January 2000.
Judge McCartan ordered that the sentences run concurrently from June 18th, 2003, when he had been taken into custody. Charges of cashing 20 fraudulent cheques worth £4,014 in January 2001 were taken into consideration.
The judge said the charge of making false statements tending to implicate two innocent men in Mr Barron's death was the "most serious" matter to come before the court. As a result of Doherty's statement, two men were wrongly accused.
Against this, Judge McCartan said certain things should be taken into account. The defendant had submitted an early guilty plea and through his senior counsel, Mr Damian Crawford, he had expressed an "unreserved apology" to those he had wronged.
Doherty's motivation also had to be taken into consideration. This was why on Monday he asked Supt Hugh Coll about the relationship between Det Garda John O'Dowd and Doherty.
The judge referred to the superintendent's comments that Garda O'Dowd had been manipulated by Doherty, whom he had also described as "resourceful". Doherty's family had been friends with Mr Barron's family, the judge continued, and, of his own making, things (a murder investigation) began to take on a movement of their own. The question of Garda O'Dowd's influence did not come into the equation at that point.
"This unfortunate saga" took another turn when shortly after those accusations were made, Doherty made a threatening call to Mr McBrearty. The judge referred to Doherty's demand of £10,000, saying if McBrearty did not comply, matters would take a turn for the worse. Judge McCartan said little did Doherty know the kind of man he was dealing with - McBrearty told him in no uncertain terms where to go.
This phone call illustrated the fact that Doherty had a "mind of his own" and there was no suggestion that Garda O'Dowd had anything to do with this. Judge McCartan said this had helped him to understand what Supt Coll had meant by referring to Doherty as "resourceful." After this he could not overlook "the role of Garda O'Dowd in all this" and said the presence of gardaí should not be "wiped out" altogether.