THE THREE judges of the non-jury Special Criminal Court sat for the first time at the Belfast Crown Court yesterday to hear evidence in a Continuity IRA-linked murder trial.
The trial of Belfast man Gerard Mackin opened in Dublin earlier this month but was adjourned to Belfast to allow for the hearing of evidence from four witnesses who were unwilling to give evidence in Dublin.
Mr Mackin has denied the murder of Edward Burns (36), a father of five, at Bog Meadow, Falls Road, Belfast, on March 12th last year. He also denies the attempted murder of Damien O’Neill (25), possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and causing serious harm to Mr O’Neill.
Mr Mackin (26), from Whiterock, west Belfast, with an address at Raheen Close, Tallaght, Dublin, has opted for trial in the Republic under the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act 1976 which allows suspects to be tried in the Republic for alleged offences in Britain or Northern Ireland.
Mr Justice Paul Butler, Judge Alison Lindsay and Judge William Hamill yesterday joined Mr Justice Ronald Weatherup, who sat as commissioner at the Belfast Crown Court, to take evidence.
It is the first time the Special Criminal Court has sat in Belfast, although members of the court heard evidence in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, in the early 1990s.
The chief prosecution witness Damien O’Neill said he had been drinking with Mr Mackin and another man at pubs in west Belfast on March 11th, 2007.
Mr Burns, a taxi driver, arrived to pick them up after closing time. Mr Mackin produced a gun, he said, and told him he was being hijacked. When Mr Burns got out of the car, Mr Mackin threw him to the ground.
“Eddie pleaded again and told him he wanted to go back to his kids and he had a heart problem. I said ‘Gerard don’t do it, don’t do it’. He just walked over and shot Eddie in the back of the head.”
Mr O’Neill said he ran away but tripped. “I was pleading for my life, don’t shoot me, don’t shoot me. He shot me in the arm and seconds later he shot me in the neck.” He said that despite surgery, the bullet was still lodged in his neck.
Cross examined by Paul McDermott SC, defending, Mr O’Neill denied he had been involved in the planning of the shooting of Mr Burns and denied he was dragging Mr Mackin in to minimise his own involvement.
The hearing resumes today.