THE JURY in the trial of a man accused of a fatal shooting on the Clontarf Road four years ago has heard that a DNA profile extracted from the handle of a bag which contained the murder weapon matched the DNA profile of the accused.
Michael Burrington of the Forensic Science Laboratory told the court that he extracted a DNA profile from swabs taken from Craig White. He compared it to profiles extracted from the handles of a paper bag and found a match.
Mr White (23), of O’Devaney Gardens, Dublin, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to murdering Noel Roche (27) on Clontarf Road on November 15th, 2005. Mr Roche was found shot dead in the passenger seat of a Ford Mondeo.
The jury earlier heard that a Peugeot car was abandoned on the night of the shooting on Furry Park Road. Gardaí found within it a paper bag containing a gun which a ballistics expert said was the weapon used to shoot Mr Roche.
Mr Burrington agreed with Brendan Grehan SC, defending, that DNA could be transferred by touch and could remain on an object for days. Mr Burrington agreed that he could not say when the DNA had been deposited on the bag or whether or not the bag had been handled afterwards by someone wearing gloves.
Det Insp Paul Scott told Anthony Sammon SC, prosecuting, that the accused was arrested on February 13th, 2008, and mucous swabs and hair samples were taken from him with his consent.
Det Insp Scott agreed with Mr Grehan that Mr White had first been arrested in December 2005 in relation to the unlawful possession of a firearm on the night of Mr Roche’s death.
He also agreed with defence counsel that a Patrick Doyle (27) had been shot dead in Spain in early February 2008. The jury earlier heard that gardaí had received information that Mr Doyle was involved in Mr Roche’s death.
Det Insp Scott accepted that while in Garda detention Mr White denied that he had killed the deceased or had been involved in any way in the shooting.
The trial is set to continue on Monday.