Courts / Dublin / Report
Trial of billionaire's son collapses
Summary
The trial of Patrick James (PJ) Mansfield, a 41‑year‑old former billionaire's son, collapsed at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 5 June 2018. Judge Cormac Quinn directed the jury to return a not guilty verdict after the prosecution failed to prove how many rounds of ammunition Mansfield was entitled to possess. The case alleged that Mansfield unlawfully possessed 1,252 rounds of .22 calibre ammunition at his former home in Coldwater Lakes, Saggart, on 29 January 2015. Mansfield denied the allegation and claimed he was unaware of the quantity of ammunition in the house. The judge noted that Mansfield had a firearms certificate authorising him to hold a Walther .22 pistol and a certain number of .22 rounds, which Gardaí believed to be 300 bullets, but the certificate's other side, showing the exact number, was not produced. The judge also pointed out that the person who authorised the certificate had not been called as a witness.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Trial of billionaire's son collapses. Procedural stage: trial
When:
- January 29, 2015 Incident
- 2018-06-05 Publication
Why: The judge said because of this, the jury would be speculating on how many rounds Mr Mansfield (41) was not entitled to possess. CNI source report
Case subjects
Accused
Places mentioned
Topics
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