A Dublin man accused of attempted murder fired shots at close range into the car of his intended victim but hit the man's pregnant girlfriend, a Central Criminal Court jury heard yesterday.
Mr John Reilly (27), of Lower Wellington Street, Dublin, pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Mr John Alford, the occupant of a green Volkswagen Polo car, on December 11th, 1996, at Ballyfermot Drive, Dublin.
Mr Reilly also pleaded not guilty to unlawfully and maliciously intending to do grievous bodily harm to a second occupant of the car, the girlfriend of the injured man, Ms Violet Blackburn Power. He also denied the possession of a firearm and .45 calibre ammunition.
Describing the attack, Mr Alford told the jury that a man in a "monkey hat with eyes and mouth cut out", dressed in black, pointed a long-barrelled handgun at him and he saw "two flashes from the gun".
The driver's door window "exploded, and glass went everywhere", Mr Alford said.
Mr Alford said he tried to restart the car and drove off down Ballyfermot Drive and the BMW followed and pushed Mr Alford's car from behind.
Mr Alford, whose girlfriend and young daughter were also in the car, lost control of the vehicle and it "went to one side".
"The BMW pulled alongside and somebody got out of the back seat." The man had a gun in his hand, he said.
Believing he was under further attack, Mr Alford got out of his car, leaned across the roof of his vehicle and pointed towards the BMW "as if I had a gun in my hand", he said.
"Whoever jumped out of the car jumped back in and drove off," Mr Alford said.
Opening the trial, prosecution counsel, Mr Michael Counihan SC, told the jury Mr Alford was forced to stop his car after it was rammed repeatedly by a dark-coloured BMW.
The prosecution alleges that the attacker was Mr Reilly, who emerged from the BMW, approached Mr Alford and aimed a handgun at his head, firing two if not three times through the driver's window.
The bullets missed Mr Alford, but hit Ms Blackburn Power in the forearm and right knee, where the bullet lodged, causing her very serious injuries.
The BMW then sped off leaving the accused at the scene, whereupon he ran off, prosecution counsel told the jury.
Ms Blackburn Power (29) told the court she was pregnant when the gunman shot at her and her four-year-old daughter, who was standing up holding on to the headrest.
While the shots were being fired and windows were being broken around them, Ms Blackburn Power said, her daughter knelt up in the seat and turned around and she pushed her down on to the floor.
Ms Blackburn Power said the gun had a "long black barrel, big and fat with a black handle. It had a silver top on it where the top had been cut off".
The prosecution also alleges that the accused pointed his gun at the head of a young man before taking his bicycle.
The BMW was later heard driving around blowing its horn looking for him whereupon the accused "ditched the bike", got into the BMW and escaped.
The BMW was later found completely burnt out, although the registration plate was salvaged, Mr Counihan said.
After his arrest and questioning at Ballyfermot Garda station, the accused allegedly made two statements admitting the guilt of these crimes, prosecution counsel said.
The trial before Mr Justice O'Donovan and a jury of four men and eight women continues today.