Courts / Dublin / Report

Evidence ruled admissible in trial of man accused of having explosives at Dublin hotel

Date
2016-02-17

Stage
Charge Or Pretrial

Primary locality
Lucan

County
Dublin

Summary

In a Special Criminal Court hearing on 17 February 2016, applications to exclude evidence in the case of Samuel Devlin, a 55‑year‑old Northern Irishman accused of unlawfully possessing PETN, were dismissed. Devlin, who had stayed at Finnstown House Hotel under a false name, pleaded not guilty to the charge. His counsel, Bernard Condon SC, sought to exclude DNA samples taken while Devlin was in custody, arguing the garda had not properly informed him of potential use in evidence, and to exclude testimony from Detective Garda Brian Barry, who had compared detonating cord found in the hotel room with plastic tubing from a bin outside the hotel. The court ruled that the DNA samples and Barry's testimony were admissible, noting that the DNA collection complied with requirements and that only part of the cord had been destroyed, with samples retained for defence use.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Evidence ruled admissible in trial of man accused of having explosives at Dublin hotel. Charges or matters: the unlawful possession of the explosive substance (PETN) at the same address on May 11, 2014. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial

When:

May 11, 2014 Incident
May 9th, 2014 Hearing Or Sentence
2016-02-17 Publication

Why: He submitted to the court that samples of DNA taken from Mr Devlin while he was in custody were inadmissible because the garda who took the samples did not properly inform the accused man that the samples might be used in evidence against him. CNI source report