Dean Evans, Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly pleaded not guilty to murder

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Dean Evans, Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly have pleaded not guilty to murdering Peter Butterly. The proceedings were reported on 30 October 2014.

Dean Evans and Edward McGrath have also pleaded not guilty to firearm offences at the Huntsman Inn car park at Gormanston, Co Meath, on 6 March 2013.

The report said Peter Butterly, 35, was shot dead in that car park on 6 March 2013.

The non-jury trial was continuing in the Special Criminal Court before presiding judge Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy, Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan and Judge Cormac Dunne.

Members of the public had been excluded while National Surveillance Unit officers gave evidence, to protect an officer’s physical characteristics from exposure. That evidence could not be published in order to protect the unit’s methodology.

The report said the public were permitted to re-enter after a surveillance garda witness was escorted from the building through the custody area. Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy allowed them to hear Emergency Response Unit evidence, although its admissibility remained unresolved. Legality of arrest was a key issue in the trial.

At an earlier hearing, the court had heard that gardaí sought judicial approval to use a tracking device on the Toyota Corolla seen entering the Huntsman Inn shortly before the shooting.