Man charged in connection with murder of NI Prison Officer was photographed with man under surveillance

Vincent Banks, a Dublin man aged 44 and residing in Smithfield Gate Apartments in Dublin 7, has pleaded not guilty to withholding information relating to the murder of Northern Ireland prison officer David Black. The case is being heard before the Special Criminal Court, with Mr Justice Paul Butler presiding. The murder occurred on 1 November 2012, when Mr Black, aged 52 and employed at Maghaberry Prison in County Antrim, was fatally shot on the M1 motorway near Lurgan. A Toyota Camry, subsequently recovered burnt-out near the scene, is alleged to have been used in the shooting, with ballistic evidence linking the vehicle to the crime. The prosecution case centres on evidence that Banks purchased the vehicle. Detective Sergeant Ciaran Quigley testified that on 8 October 2012, gardaí observed two men travel from Carrigallen in County Leitrim to Dublin as part of an ongoing security operation. Detective Sergeant Bronagh Bergin provided evidence that Banks met the two men at a public house in Phibsborough, where photographs were taken showing him in their company. A local Leitrim County Councillor, John McCartin, gave evidence that he had photographed a vehicle parked in a darkened area of Carrigallen in October 2012 following community complaints and provided the images to gardaí. Metadata analysis confirmed the photographs were taken on 14 October 2012. Banks faces the charge of failing to disclose material information he knew might assist in prosecuting the murder between October and December 2012. The case has proceeded through the Special Criminal Court system, with the trial continuing at the time of this report in March 2014.