Courts / Dublin / Report

Criminal gets nine years over loaded handgun found during raid

Date
2020-12-21

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

Trevor Byrne, aged 40, was sentenced by the Special Criminal Court to nine years' imprisonment for possessing a loaded 9mm Luger‑caliber Radom 35 handgun in a cabin at his Woodford Grove house on 15 November 2019. He also pleaded guilty to possession of ammunition and €3,050 in cash, which he claimed were proceeds of crime. Byrne had 40 prior convictions, including a 2005 robbery where he pointed a gun at Gardaí and held a taxi driver's head to a gun. He had previously been convicted of possession of a loaded double‑barrel shotgun, unlawful vehicle seizure and robbery, receiving sentences ranging from two to eight years, and was released in November 2009. The court noted that this was his second offence involving a firearm, with a maximum sentence of 14 years. The judge applied a 10 per cent reduction for the guilty plea, back‑dating the sentence to November 2019.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Criminal gets nine years over loaded handgun found during raid. Charges or matters: various offences including possession of a loaded double-barrel shotgun, unlawful seizure of vehicles and robbery of an off-licence; possession of a loaded 9mm Luger-caliber Radom 35 firearm at a house in Woodford Grove, Clondalkin, Dublin 22 on November 15, 2019. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Convicted

When:

April 2005 Incident
November 2009 Hearing Or Sentence
November 15, 2019 Incident
November 15 Hearing Or Sentence
November 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
2020-12-21 Publication

Why: Mr Devally said that Byrne had the gun for his own protection and that he had fled Ireland in 2016 because of a threat to his life. CNI source report

Case subjects

Trevor Byrne

Convicted Person

Charges: various offences including possession of a loaded double-barrel shotgun, unlawful seizure of vehicles and robbery of an off-licence; possession of a loaded 9mm Luger-caliber Radom 35 firearm at a house in Woodford Grove, Clondalkin, Dublin 22 on November 15, 2019 (Proven)

Plea: Guilty

Finding: Convicted

Outcome: Convicted; The judge said that the plea "was not advanced at the appropriate time" to earn Byrne 25 per cent off his sentence. Mr Justice Hunt then backdated the sentence to November 2019, when Byrne was taken into custody.