Dublin man bought car used in murder of NI Prison Officer

Vincent Banks, a 49-year-old Dublin resident, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment following his conviction for membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army. The Special Criminal Court's three-judge panel found Banks guilty in July 2017 of involvement in activities connected to the November 2012 murder of David Black, a Northern Ireland prison officer killed in a drive-by shooting on the M1 near Lurgan in County Armagh. The prosecution established that Banks had purchased a Toyota Camry under a false identity in October 2012, just weeks before the fatal incident. A vehicle dealer testified that a man identifying himself as Paul McCann completed the transaction. Evidence presented to the court included Banks' fingerprint on the car's registration document, which bore the assumed name. The vehicle was later recovered burnt out in a ditch near Carrigallen, County Leitrim, with firearm cartridges connected to Black's death found inside. Detectives outlined additional forensic links connecting Banks to the car. An ordnance survey map of County Leitrim with a page removed was recovered bearing his fingerprints. A resident of Carrigallen reported observing a black Toyota Camry matching the vehicle's description parked near her home shortly after the purchase. Banks had maintained his innocence throughout proceedings, contending he knew nothing of Mr Black or the vehicle. The court rejected his denials, with Justice Isobel Kennedy noting that Banks held a position of trust within the organisation and that his conduct surrounding the car's acquisition was deliberately secretive. The conviction was based on the surreptitious nature of his involvement rather than direct participation in the murder itself. Banks, of Smithfield Gate Apartments in Dublin 7, has no significant previous convictions.