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'Hit team' member jailed after confrontation with armed gardai

Summary

Owen Cummins, 41, of Cabra, Dublin 7, was sentenced to nine years and six months imprisonment by the Special Criminal Court for possessing a Beretta 92s handgun and silencer in suspicious circumstances. The offence occurred on September 6, 2017, in Inchicore, Dublin 8, during a confrontation with armed gardai. Cummins pleaded guilty to the charge. The court heard that Cummins drove a jeep towards Garda Stephen Gillespie, who was restraining co-accused Andrew O'Keeffe on the ground. Fearing for his life, the garda discharged his firearm, causing Cummins to swerve and collide with a parked vehicle. Mr Justice Hunt, sitting with Judges Griffin and Dempsey, reduced the headline sentence from 12 years to nine years and six months, citing mitigating factors including Cummins' guilty plea and the recent death of his 19-year-old child. A further 18 months of the sentence was suspended to encourage rehabilitation. The sentence was backdated to May 27, 2019. Cummins has 68 previous convictions. Separately, co-accused Andrew O'Keeffe, 30, of Cabra West, pleaded guilty in June 2018 to possessing a 9mm Beretta handgun and silencer in suspicious circumstances on the same date. He was sentenced in August 2018 to nine years imprisonment with one year suspended.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: 'Hit team' member jailed after confrontation with armed gardai. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• September 6, 2017 Incident
• May 27 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
• September 6th, 2017 Hearing Or Sentence
• June 2018 Incident
• August 2018 Incident
• 2020-03-03 Publication

Why: A further 18 months was suspended in order to encourage the defendant's rehabilitation. CNI source report

Case subjects

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Stage Sentence

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Read the original CNI report