A man believed by gardai to have been a member of the Martin Cahill criminal gang has been jailed for five years by Judge Frank O'Donnell at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. John Ruth (30), of St Etna's Road, Cabra, pleaded guilty to assaulting a garda and to having an automatic pistol and ammunition at Connaught Street, Phibsboro, on September 22nd, 1994. The court was told that Ruth and his accomplice, Richard Shaw, were also found with a pair of binoculars and a ground sheet.
Sgt Michael Jordan told Mr Des Zaidan, prosecuting, that he was on Connaught Street when he saw the two men on a disused railway line. He approached Ruth who pulled an automatic pistol. Sgt Jordan drew his baton. Ruth dropped the bag and the pistol and the men fled. The pistol was found to contain 10 rounds of ammunition and another 10 rounds were found in a matchbox. Ruth went to England where he set up his own sewage treatment business and was extradited four years later. The sentence will be reviewed on March 5th, 2001.