Courts / Meath / Report

Man linked to criminal Cornelius Price fails in bid to overturn WW II machine gun conviction

Date
2022-07-27

Stage
Appeal

Primary locality
Gormanston

County
Meath

Summary

Stephen Gibbons, 58, of Rockleigh House, Richardstown, Co Meath, was convicted in May 2021 by a jury at Trim Circuit Court of unlawfully possessing a 9mm Makarov PM‑63 RAK sub‑machine pistol found during a Garda search near his home. The gun, dated 1945 and coated in thick lubricant, was serviceable but had two discharged bullets blocking the barrel; a detective fitted a replacement barrel to demonstrate its capability for semi‑automatic and fully automatic fire. Gibbons was acquitted of possessing ammunition at the same time and place. He appealed to the Court of Appeal, arguing the jury's verdict was logically inconsistent because the same bag contained the pistol, ammunition, and a hair from his own hair stuck to the lubricant.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Man linked to criminal Cornelius Price fails in bid to overturn WW II machine gun conviction. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Convicted

When:

January 15, 2020 Incident
May 2021 Incident
2022-07-27 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