Appeal court rejects bid to raise Wayne Dundon’s six-year prison term

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

On 5 June 2015, the Court of Appeal rejected the DPP’s challenge to Wayne Dundon’s six-year prison term for death threats and witness intimidation. Prosecutors argued that the punishment was too lenient.

Mr Justice George Birmingham announced the decision alongside Mr Justice Alan Mahon and Mr Justice John Edwards. He said the court would explain its reasoning later.

The Special Criminal Court convicted Wayne Dundon in 2012 over a threat made to Alice Collins at Hyde Avenue in Limerick on 30 September 2010: he would kill or seriously harm her sons, Gareth Collins and Jimmy Collins. He was also convicted of intimidating Alice Collins and April Collins as potential prosecution witnesses, intending to obstruct justice during that incident. With Mr Justice Paul Butler presiding, the court imposed a six-year prison term on 18 April 2012.

John Dundon was separately jailed for five-and-a-half years after his conviction for a death threat against April Collins at Hyde Road during the weekend of 3 and 4 April 2011.

DPP counsel Shane Costelloe SC disputed the handling of victim impact evidence. He said the victims had declined to give oral evidence and the court excluded their written statement after the defence objected. He argued that it could be considered through submissions, allowing defence replies. Mr Justice George Birmingham said hearing from the victims required calling them as witnesses. Shane Costelloe SC also argued that Wayne Dundon’s previous threat-to-kill conviction appeared to have been overlooked, although it had attracted a longer sentence.

Defence counsel Michael Bowman SC said Alice Collins had already testified about her fear and changes to how she answered her door. He defended excluding the statement, rejected suggestions that the judges had forgotten prosecution evidence and maintained that the sentence was neither exceptional nor lenient.

Both brothers’ conviction appeals were postponed on 5 June 2015. Mr Justice George Birmingham said Wayne Dundon’s lawyers were drafting a motion about admitting additional evidence. John Dundon’s appeal was delayed to allow a joint hearing, although the judge warned that it might eventually proceed without Wayne Dundon being ready. Both cases were deferred to the next listing for dates to be arranged.