Leitrim County Councillor gives evidence at trial of man charged in connection with David Black murder

At the Special Criminal Court in Dublin, a Leitrim County Councillor provided testimony concerning the investigation into the fatal shooting of David Black, a Northern Ireland prison officer killed on the M1 motorway near Lurgan on 1 November 2012. Councillor John McCartin described reporting concerns to gardaí in 2012 after discovering a vehicle parked in an unlit section of Carrigallen. He documented the car using his mobile telephone in October 2012 and subsequently furnished an image disc to investigating officers. The case concerns Vincent Banks, a Dublin resident aged 44, who is charged with withholding information between October and December 2012. He has also faced a separate charge of membership of an unlawful organisation. Banks has maintained a not guilty plea to both accusations. Detective Garda Bridget Buckley of the Computer Crime Unit examined the photographic evidence and established through technical analysis that the images had been captured on 14 October 2012. The prosecution's theory centres on the role of a Toyota Camry in the murder. According to State evidence, the vehicle was purchased using an assumed identity shortly before the shooting and was subsequently recovered burnt-out near the scene. Forensic examination connected Banks to the vehicle through fingerprint evidence found on registration documentation. The Carrigallen location features prominently in the investigation, as the car had reportedly been stored in the area prior to the killing. The discovery and reporting of the parked vehicle by the local councillor formed part of a broader investigative operation by gardaí into subversive and dissident activity. The three-judge panel of the Special Criminal Court would ultimately need to evaluate the significance of the evidence presented regarding Banks's knowledge and involvement in relation to the vehicle and the circumstances surrounding the prison officer's death.