Courts / Dublin / Report

Gardai fired seven shots at jeep during firearms arrest, court hears

Date
2018-07-24

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

A Dublin man pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to possessing a 9mm Beretta handgun and silencer following an armed garda operation in September 2017. Andrew O'Keeffe, aged 29, from Drumcliff Road, Cabra West, Dublin 7, was arrested after gardai responded to intelligence regarding a firearm at Ballyfermot. During the incident, officers pursued a white van which fled at speed towards Inchicore. The vehicle came to a stop at bollards on Kylemore Way, and as O'Keeffe and another man ran towards a parked jeep, a garda officer discharged his firearm seven times when the jeep was driven towards gardai. O'Keeffe was detained and the weapon, containing nine rounds, was recovered from a plastic bag discarded during the pursuit. His fingerprints and DNA were found on items connected to the incident. The court heard O'Keeffe has seventy-one previous convictions and a long-standing cocaine addiction. His barrister highlighted his early guilty plea and lengthy period in custody. The three-judge panel remanded him in custody pending sentencing on 31 July.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Gardai fired seven shots at jeep during firearms arrest, court hears. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

September 6, 2017 Incident
September 6 Hearing Or Sentence
July 31 Adjournment
2018-07-24 Publication

Case subjects

Andrew O'Keeffe

Defendant

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, sitting with Judge Patricia Ryan and Judge Michael Walsh, remanded O'Keeffe in custody until July 31, when he will be sentenced.; Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, sitting with Judge Patricia Ryan and Judge Michael Walsh, remanded O'Keeffe in custody until July 31, when he will be sentenced.