Courts / Tipperary / Report

Tipperary man who tried to pervert murder investigation has jail term cut on appeal

Summary

James Conlon, a 35-year-old from Clonmel, Co Tipperary, had his jail term reduced on appeal after pleading not guilty to two counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The offences occurred during the investigation into the 2012 murder of Shane Rossiter. Conlon was originally found guilty by a jury at Clonmel Circuit Criminal Court and sentenced to eight years imprisonment, with the final year suspended, by Judge Thomas Teehan in February 2012. The Court of Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice George Birmingham alongside Mr Justice Alan Mahon and Mr Justice John Edwards, quashed these sentences. The court substituted new terms of four years and three years imprisonment to run concurrently, resulting in an effective four-year term. The appeal judgment noted that Conlon and Maurice Power, who was convicted of Rossiter's murder at the Central Criminal Court in 2014, sought to remove a computer chip from a CCTV system. Conlon also allegedly sought to dissuade a potential witness from giving evidence. While the court acknowledged the seriousness of perverting justice in a murder case, it found the original sentencing range inappropriately high, noting the absence of violence, threats, or intimidation.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Tipperary man who tried to pervert murder investigation has jail term cut on appeal. Charges or matters: two counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice during the investigation into the murder of Shane Rossiter in the county in 2012; Mr Rossiter's murder following a trial at the Central Criminal Court in 2014. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Found guilty

When:

• February 26, 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
• October 17, 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2017-12-18 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report