A former detective garda said that he feared for his life when an armed robber pointed a shotgun at his face and shouted: "I'll f**king kill you, don't move I'll shoot" during a raid that left his colleague dead from a gunshot wound to the head, a trial has heard.
Joe Ryan agreed with Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting, that in his statement he described the moment he realised his partner Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe had been fatally wounded, telling officers: "I could see he had serious injuries. Then I knew he was shot. I went over to him, I knew he was dead. I felt for a pulse, there was no pulse.
"His head was lying in a pool of blood and I could see brain matter. I knew then nothing could be done for him".
A credit union volunteer also became emotional on Wednesday as she told the Special Criminal Court of the moment a robber smashed the driver's window of her car outside Lordship credit union shouting: "Give me the money, give me the f**king money".
Bernadette McShane was sitting in her car when she heard two "massive bangs" and saw Detective Garda Donohoe fall to the ground.
"Initially I thought he had ducked because of the bangs, I didn't realise what happened at that stage. He just fell and never moved," she said.
Brendan Treanor (34), previously of Emer Terrace, Castletown Road, Dundalk, Co Louth, and James Flynn (32) from South Armagh are charged that between September 11th, 2012, and 23rd January 2013, they conspired with convicted Garda-killer Aaron Brady and others to enter residential premises with the intention of stealing car keys.
Both men are also charged with the robbery of €7,000 at Lordship Credit Union in Bellurgan, Co Louth, on January 25th, 2013. They have pleaded not guilty to each charge.
Brady (31) previously of New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, is serving a life sentence with a 40-year minimum having been found guilty of murdering Det Gda Adrian Donohoe and of the burglary at Lordship.
He denied any involvement in the robbery and is awaiting an appeal against his conviction.
Alleged conspiracy
The prosecution alleges that Mr Treanor and Mr Flynn were part of a group of young men who conspired to break into houses to steal car keys and then quietly make off with the cars.
Bernadette McShane today told prosecution counsel Mr Grehan that she worked in a voluntary position as a teller for the Lordship Credit Union and had driven to work at 5pm on January 25th.
She said the treasurer on duty that night was her colleague Pat Bellew and that the credit union would generally close around 8.30pm.
Ms McShane said she stayed on the premises with Mr Bellew until the garda escort and a car from Cooley Credit Union arrived.
As Ms McShane started her own car she heard two "massive bangs" which she thought was someone letting off fireworks, looked around and saw people running around the car park, whom she didn't recognise.
She said she saw a detective, whom she now knows to be Det Gda Donohoe, falling to the ground beside the passenger side of his vehicle. "Initially I thought he had ducked because of the bangs, I didn't realise what happened at that stage. He just fell and never moved," she said.
Ms McShane began to cry as she described one of the robbers running towards her car and smashing the driver's window. "He started demanding money off me.
He shouted 'give me the money, give me the f***ing money'," she said.
The witness told the man that she hadn't got any money and that somebody else had it, which she confirmed to Mr Grehan was the truth.
The robber asked the witness for her handbag which was on the floor of her car. "I grabbed my handbag and threw it at him," she added.
He then told her to open the glove box, which she did but there was nothing in it.
She noticed that the man was a "bulky built chap" and seemed to have a walkie-talkie on him, "something that had an aerial". "It wasn't slim like a mobile phone, more bulk to it," she said.
He was wearing a balaclava, she said, with two slits for the eyes and another for the mouth and a bulky jacket. She said he was taller than the car but not "massively taller" as he did not have to stoop too much to shout at her.
She didn't notice anything else in his hand and didn't see how he had broken her window.
She said the man stayed with her until a voice shouted, "Are you right there lads?" and then he hopped over the wall of the credit union. "He seemed quite agile as he was able to get over the wall of the credit union quite easily," said Ms McShane.
When the witness was told by counsel that the man was only at her car for 30 seconds, Ms McShane said it seemed a lot longer.
Cross-examination
Under cross-examination the witness agreed with Sean Guerin SC, defending Mr Treanor, that in her statements to gardaí she said that the man had a Dublin accent or close by.
She also confirmed to Bernard Condon SC, for Mr Flynn, that the man at her car was bulky and not slim.
The next witness Mr Ryan told Mr Grehan that he was now retired from the force but had been stationed in the Dundalk area since 1994.
He said there was a regular tour of duty by the detective branch at Dundalk Garda Station to go to Omeath Credit Union to carry out a cash escort to deposit savings in a night safe at two different banks on a Friday night.
Mr Ryan said he and Det Gda Donohoe left Dundalk Garda Station at 8.05pm on January 25th and that he was driving an unmarked Toyota Avensis car. He said it was a very wet and bad night and they had encountered a flood.
The witness said they later followed a woman, who was driving a Qashqai, from Cooley Credit Union to Lordship Credit Union, and they all arrived about 9.25pm.
They waited two to three minutes behind the Qashqai and a male, who was carrying a bag, and a female exited the credit union. They took off slowly after the Qashqai allowing room for a Mazda car to get in behind the Qashqai but a car pulled up in front of Qashqai at the exit to the car park.
Mr Ryan said to Det Gda Donohoe "what is going on here" and they pulled up closer to the Qashqai. Det Gda Donohoe got out to see what was happening. Mr Ryan said he heard a bang off to the right, he didn't think it was a shot, it drew his attention and he saw two males running towards him.
He could see one of them had a full length shotgun in front of him pointing in their direction. He immediately knew a robbery was taking place.
Mr Ryan released his seatbelt and went to open the door and reach for his official firearm but he heard a bang and saw a flash from the muzzle of the shotgun. He thought it was a warning shot.
The witness had no view of Det Gda Donohoe, his car door was opened by one of the two men who had run across. The man with the shotgun had it pointed at his face and body.
He said the man was shouting and roaring 'I'll f**king kill you, don't move I'll shoot'. Mr Ryan said he was in fear for his life and the man also said 'give us the money'.
Mr Ryan didn't have a chance to draw his weapon and he remembered telling the man 'don't shoot, don't shoot, I have no money'.
He said the second man had a handgun pointed at him as well. He said he was wondering which one of the two was going to shoot. He remembered thinking that he would prefer to be shot by the handgun than the shotgun.
Escape
He said the man with the handgun had his car keys and they ran off towards the front of his car and into the vehicle that was parked in front of the Qashqai. He saw a male get into the front of the dark-coloured car.
Mr Ryan said he didn't see Det Gda Donohoe and remembered thinking would he fire at the men but then decided there was no immediate threat.
The witness then saw Det Gda Donohoe lying on the ground to the left at the passenger side of the patrol car. "I could see he had serious injuries. Then I knew he was shot. I went over to him, I knew he was dead.
"I felt for a pulse, there was no pulse. His head was lying in a pool of blood and I could see brain matter. I knew then nothing could be done for him," he said.
Mr Ryan called Dundalk Garda Station requesting an ambulance and assistance informing them that Det Gda Donohoe was shot. He told them that a dark-coloured car was heading in the Dundalk direction. He said he was very shaken up.
He said the man with the shotgun was tall, about six feet to six feet one inch, of thin build, with a balaclava over his head. He said the man was roaring and shouting, and he couldn't place the accent.
The raider with the handgun was smaller, about 5 feet 6 or 7 inches. He said his accent was "border, Louth Monaghan".
He wasn't as thin as the first man and had a more athletic build. "I would say both of them were in their 20's but I'm basing this on their build and the way they ran,' he said.
