Courts / Meath / Report
'Illogical' for jury to convict man linked to Cornelius Price, appeal told
Summary
Stephen Gibbons, a convicted person linked to Cornelius Price, appealed to the Court of Appeal against his May 2021 jury conviction for unlawfully possessing a 9mm Makarov PM-63 RAK submachine pistol. Gibbons, who denied the charge, was found not guilty of possessing ammunition at the same location in Co Meath. His legal team argued the verdict was logically inconsistent, noting that a single hair on the weapon was used to convict him despite the ammunition being found in the same bag, for which he was acquitted. The prosecution countered that the jury understood the distinction between the counts and that the DNA evidence was not the sole basis for the conviction. The Court of Appeal has reserved its judgment, meaning the matter is adjourned and not yet concluded. At his earlier sentence hearing, Judge Martina Baxter backdated the sentence to April 2020, citing the association of the firearm with organised criminality as an aggravating factor. Gibbons remains on Price's land in Gormanstown, having previously married Price's aunt.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 'Illogical' for jury to convict man linked to Cornelius Price, appeal told. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Convicted
When:
- January 15, 2020 Incident
- May 2021 Incident
- April 2020 Incident
- 2022-06-24 Publication
Why: Mr Orange said that it was "illogical" for a jury to convict his client on possession of the pistol because of the "critical" weight given to the presence of the hair when it was in the same bag at the same location as the ammunition, over which Gibbons was acquitted. CNI source report
Case subjects
Appellant
Convicted Person
Finding: Convicted
Outcome: Convicted; At Gibbons' sentence hearing, Judge Martina Baxter identified as an aggravating factor the association of such a firearm with organised criminality and backdated the sentence to April 2020, when Gibbons was arrested.
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