A Dublin teenager has been jailed for seven years for the manslaughter of his neighbour, whom he shot in the chest after he had threatened to put him in a wheelchair.
Conor Duffy (18) of St Mary’s Road in East Wall, had denied murdering Aidan O’Kane (50) in a laneway in East Wall in December 2008.
The father of one had chased the youth into the lane after he and other teenagers threw eggs at his house and taunted him as he cleaned up the mess.
Duffy had been on friendly terms with his neighbour prior to the shooting, and had been in his house a number of times to smoke cannabis. They fell out when Mr O’Kane suspected the teen of stealing his bike and threatened to put him in a wheelchair.
Duffy admitted to manslaughter but the plea was rejected by the Director of Public Prosecutions and he was tried for murder last month. A jury acquitted him of murder but found him guilty of manslaughter by a majority verdict.
In handing down sentence at the Central Criminal Court today, Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan said he believed the appropriate sentence for the crime was 12 years, as he regarded the manslaughter to be on the upper end of the scale.
He said the shooting had happened in the context of a wider campaign of harassment of Mr O’Kane. The judge said the aggravating factors were that Duffy had returned to the scene with a firearm and had discharged it, had left the scene and disposed of the gun and his clothing.
However, he said there were strong mitigating factors he had to take into consideration, including the fact that Duffy was just 16 at the time of the shooting and had learning difficulties.
Of particular significance was Duffy’s early plea to manslaughter, and the admissions he made to gardaí, Mr Justice Sheehan said. He also took note of Duffy’s remorse after the shooting, the fact that he had become withdrawn since the incident and had not been in trouble.
Duffy had 11 previous convictions for theft and drug possession, but the judge said he was taking account of the fact that none of the convictions were for violent behaviour. He also said he was conscious of recent reports by the inspector of prisons which said some prisons were not fit for purpose.
Mr Justice Sheehan said he was “obliged to assume” that Duffy’s “dignity would be respected” and that he would get the assistance he needed in order to be rehabilitated.
Duffy stood with his hands in his pockets as the judge sentenced him to seven years. The teenager did not react, but put his head down briefly and then looked at his parents at the back of the court.
After the sentencing, Mr O’Kane’s younger brother, Barry O’Kane said “too many people are suffering from needless violence” and that the underlying reasons needed to be exposed. He described his brother as a happy man and said what happened “should never have happened.”
During the trial, the court heard that Mr O’Kane changed into a leather jacket and decided to confront the youths after the egg-throwing incident. He also wore a balaclava and armed himself with a retractable baton before leaving the house.
When he appeared on the street, teenagers began screaming that he had a gun. Duffy later told gardaí he decided then and there to shoot Mr O’Kane in the leg, and went to retrieve a gun he had discovered earlier in undergrowth.
He returned to the scene where Mr O’Kane chased him into the lane.
Telling gardaí he feared for his life and believed he was going to be shot, Duffy pointed the handgun at his neighbour and fired. He then fled from the scene, leaving Mr O’Kane to fall fatally injured to the ground. The bullet had pierced his heart and lungs and he died shortly afterwards.
Duffy’s sentence was backdated to April 5th last, when he was first remanded in custody.