Courts / Dublin / Report

Damage done by gun crime can't be ignored, judge remarks

Date
2020-12-21

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

In a Special Criminal Court hearing, Bernard Fogarty, 32, was sentenced to five years and three months imprisonment for possession of a RAK PM‑63 submachine gun. The judge, Mr Justice Tony Hunt, noted the weapon was not in immediate use but was intended for future use, and that Fogarty's conduct was linked to organised crime. Fogarty pleaded guilty, which led to a 25 % reduction from the headline seven‑year sentence, resulting in the final term of five years and three months, with the last three months suspended and backdated to his time in custody. He must keep the peace, be of good behaviour and undergo one year of probation supervision after release. The case was based on DNA evidence linking Fogarty to the gun recovered from a vehicle in the Shankill area. The judge emphasised that the damage caused by gun crime cannot be ignored.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Damage done by gun crime can't be ignored, judge remarks. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

March 7, 2020 Incident
July 15 Incident
March 7 Incident
2020-12-21 Publication

Case subjects

Unnamed accused

Defendant

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: A man known to gardai as being "heavily involved in organised crime" and who was linked through DNA evidence to a submachine gun has been jailed by the Special Criminal Court for five years. Mr Justice Hunt, sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Michael Walsh, sentenced Fogarty to five years and three months imprisonment with the final three months suspended, backdated to when he went into custody.