Courts / Dublin / Report

State decides not to proceed with charge of withholding information in relation to shooting of Alan Ryan

Summary

The State withdrew charges against Thomas Hunt, 40, who was accused of withholding information about a car he allegedly bought that was later used in the fatal shooting of dissident republican Alan Ryan on 3 September 2012. Hunt was arrested in October 2012 and pleaded not guilty to the charge of withholding information between 3 September and 23 October 2012. The case hinged on telephone records stored on a Meteor mainframe computer. Judge Catherine Murphy ruled that the records could not be relied upon because there was no evidence the computer was operating correctly at the relevant time. She required proof of the mainframe's function and operation, a standard established by a 1992 UK appeal court decision. After four days of argument, Judge Murphy discharged the jury and informed them that the State had decided not to proceed with the case.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: State decides not to proceed with charge of withholding information in relation to shooting of Alan Ryan. Charges or matters: withholding information, on dates between September 3 and October 23, 2012, which might have been of material assistance in securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of a person for a serious offence, the murder of Alan Ryan. Procedural stage: trial

When:

• September 3, 2012 Incident
• September 3 Incident
• October 23, 2012 Incident
• 2014-12-05 Publication

Why: The State entered a nolle prosequi in the case after Judge Catherine Murphy ruled that telephone records held on a mainframe computer could not be relied on as evidence because there was no evidence that the computer was operating correctly at the relevant time. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Trial

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Read the original CNI report