A Leaving Certificate student accused of murdering gunman Tristan Sherry, who died after fatally shooting a man in a Dublin restaurant on Christmas Eve, has been sent forward for trial to the non-jury Special Criminal Court.
A judge also held that there was no legal basis to impose reporting restrictions to prevent the media from naming him since he had turned 18 and reached adulthood.
Mr Sherry (26) was killed minutes after he shot Jason Hennessy snr (48) in Browne’s Steakhouse in Blanchardstown. Mr Hennessy, from Corduff, Blanchardstown, died in hospital on January 4th.
Four men are accused of murdering Mr Sherry, who died from blunt force head trauma in the steakhouse.
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The youngest, Noah Musueni, was a juvenile at the time of the incident and when initially charged.
The Dublin Children’s Court heard on Tuesday that the accused has now turned 18 and reached adulthood, was about to sit the Leaving Certificate and that “Mr Musueni intends to fight this fully”.
Det Gda Tom McCarrick served the young man with a book of evidence.
A State solicitor told Judge Shalom Binchy that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) directed that Mr Musueni be sent forward for trial to the Special Criminal Court.
The DPP had furnished a certificate under section 46.2 of the Offences Against the State Act that in this case, “the ordinary courts are inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice”. The judge greed to grant a return-for-trial order.
It was the first murder case from the investigation to reach this stage.
Judge Binchy told the accused, who is from Corduff Park, Corduff, that he must notify the prosecution if he intends to use an alibi.
She also ordered the gardaí to hand over interview videos to the defence.
She warned him that he must obey bail conditions, and granted legal aid, including senior counsel representation. A date for his appearance in the Special Criminal Court has yet to be set.
His barrister, Doireann McDonagh, instructed by solicitor Simon Fleming, said that until now, the accused, who wants to study engineering in university, had a legal right to anonymity under section 93 of the Children Act. However, since recently turning 18, he no longer had that protection.
Counsel asked the judge to consider extending anonymity to him going forward, but conceded that there was no basis in law. She cited a Court of Appeal ruling in January that found this protection extended only to children who are defined as people under the age of 18 in the Act.
However, counsel submitted anonymity in that matter has been continued pending a possible Supreme Court appeal.
In Mr Musueni’s proceedings on Tuesday, the State objected to the defence request and submitted that there was no provision in the legislation to prevent naming an accused once they turned 18.
Judge Binchy noted that she had already granted the trial order and said that, in the absence of a legal basis, she was refusing the application to impose the reporting restrictions.
In a High Court hearing in January, Mr Justice Tony Hunt had said a gangland-type scenario sprang to mind and he refused to grant the youth bail.
However, the teen successfully appealed that decision and later was granted bail subject to conditions, including avoiding several named individuals, a curfew, surrendering his passport and signing on twice a week at a Garda station.
Three other men are still before the courts charged with the murder of Sherry.
Another youth and four other men face various charges, including assault, violent disorder and production of a weapon during the incident.
One of them is accused of a firearms offence after he allegedly took the gun used by Sherry out of the restaurant.
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