A man has been acquitted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to crime journalist Paul Williams.
James Walsh (46), of Mountain View Drive, Churchtown, Tallaght had pleaded not guilty to threatening to kill Mr Williams, the crime editor of the Sunday World, on June 25th, 2003 and also threatening to cause him serious harm later the same day.
The jury took one hour and 30 minutes to acquit Walsh of both charges on day six of the trial.
Judge Desmond Hogan thanked the jury for its "care and attention" during the case and discharged Walsh from the offences.
Walsh is currently serving a four-year sentence he received on July 25th, 2005 for attempting to influence the jury foreman in the trial of Seán Fitzgerald and Jason Black, heard from May 25th, 2003 to June 4th, 2003 before Judge Frank O'Donnell at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Fitzgerald (55), of Dunmore Park, and Black (30), of Tymonville Drive, both from Tallaght, were found guilty of handling a stolen car and setting fire to parts of it between May 20th and May 26th, 1999 and were jailed for five years each on July 29, 2003.
Walsh had told Pat Russell, defending, that he "had no hand, act or part" in any of alleged threatening calls to Mr Williams during which he said he was told: "You will be meeting Veronica Guerin." Walsh said the "suspect" phone from which the calls were made was not his own and belonged to his former friend, Dean Collins, with whom he had been in business for a period.
He told Mr Russell that he was in his home in Churchtown on the morning of June 25th until 11.40am when he travelled by taxi to Sundrive Road Garda station via the Fortfield area of Terenure for a prearranged appointment with Det Sgt Joe O'Hara.
He denied making the first threatening call which was received by Mr Williams at about 11.40am and had been routed through the Smithfield mobile phone mast near the city centre.
He said he received a call from Det Insp Brian Sutton that afternoon and was speaking to him during the time the second alleged threat was made. He dismissed as "ridiculous" a suggestion he could have paused the conversation to make the threat to Mr Williams on another phone. Det Insp Sutton gave evidence that he did not recall anything strange during the call.