A 25-YEAR-OLD father of two was mistaken for his brother when he was shot dead in Dublin last year, a jury at the Central Criminal Court has heard.
Bryan Ryan (24), an unemployed man originally from Sheepmore Crescent in Blanchardstown, Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ian Tobin at Fortlawn Park, Blanchardstown, on May 27th, 2007.
Opening the prosecution case, Tom O'Connell SC told the jury Mr Ryan "participated in a joint enterprise with another man . . . by driving a motorcycle with the other man, Michael Murray, to Fortlawn Park.
"Mr Murray was armed with a sawn-off shotgun. He walked to the door and shot Ian Tobin who came to the door. He shot him through a glass panel of the door."
Mr O'Connell said Ian Tobin died within a few days of the gunshot wound and he was "not the intended victim. His brother, Blake Tobin, was the intended victim."
The jury was told that there had been "an ongoing feud" between Blake Tobin and the accused and Mr Murray: "This feud had been going on for a couple of years and had erupted into physical violence on a couple of occasions."
The trial will also hear evidence from a key witness who will say that Mr Ryan rang him before the shooting to say Blake Tobin would be killed and rang him after to say the job had been done.
Mr O'Connell told the jury, "This was a joint enterprise with another man to kill Mr Tobin . . . Both are parties to this. Then each is guilty of the crime committed." He said Mr Ryan "drove a motorbike with another man who was carrying a gun. He knew that person was carrying a gun and intended to use the gun. Mr Ryan is equally responsible for the crime with the person who in fact fired the shotgun. If you miss your intended target and hit somebody else it is still murder and the person who participated is also equally guilty of . . . murder."
The jury also heard Mr Ryan made admissions to gardaí while in custody that he had driven the motorbike and burned it afterwards. He told gardaí he was not aware his passenger was carrying a gun and thought he had only intended to frighten someone.
Mr O'Connell said there would also be "supporting evidence of telephone traffic between particular phones on the night".
Blake Tobin, brother of the deceased, told the court he had been out with his brother the night before the shooting. He said they left town and went to the house in Fortlawn Park at about 4am. Later that morning, while he was in the sitting-room, Blake Tobin heard a knock on the door followed by a loud bang. He said he saw his brother fall back onto the stairs.
"I saw he was hit in the neck," said Mr Tobin. He said he saw a motorbike parked outside the driveway: "There was one person on the bike and another person ran toward the bike and then got on and the bike flew up the road. I tried to comfort my brother until the ambulance arrived."
Seán Guerin, prosecuting, asked Mr Tobin, "Had you any idea at the time why your brother was shot?" Mr Tobin said, "No."
Mr Tobin told the jury that, 1½ years before the shooting, he was involved in a fight with the accused and Mr Murray.
The trial continues.