A man stole a mobile phone from a shooting victim as he lay bleeding from his bullet wounds, a court heard yesterday.
Gareth Guinan (20), Rutland Avenue, Crumlin, Dublin, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property arising out of the shooting in Sundrive Park, Crumlin, on August 15th, 2005.
Dublin District Court heard that Guinan stole the mobile from Daniel Doyle minutes after he had been shot twice and left paralysed. Det Sgt Barry Butler said Guinan picked the phone up as it lay about four inches from Mr Doyle's bleeding body. He made no effort to help the victim, who attended court yesterday in a wheelchair.
Mr Doyle was shot twice and Guinan was present while the shooting was carried out, although he had nothing to do with the attack. A man has since been charged with the shooting and is awaiting trial.
Guinan had a number of previous convictions and his lawyer asked the court to exercise leniency for what was "a foolish thing." Judge Cormac Dunne interrupted the lawyer as she explained about his family background. "The court does not want to know about his [ Guinan's] family - the court wants to know why he did what he did."
"Did he have any reason or explanation for this callous act of indifference with a fellow human being lying in his own blood?" the judge asked.
Guinan's lawyer said it was "an opportunistic thing to do". The lawyer was reluctant to say more because of the pending trial of the alleged gunman.
The judge adjourned the case to March 27th when a probation report will be available.