The Court of Appeal has dismissed Jason Byrne’s appeal against seven convictions arising from a series of offences in the south-east in 2008. It concluded that the trial was not unfair and the verdict was not unsafe.
Byrne was convicted in Wexford Criminal Court on 15 April 2016 of aggravated burglary, three burglaries, assault causing harm and two offences under the Road Traffic Act relating to a vehicle taken without its owner’s consent. He received a six-year prison sentence, backdated by about 12 months.
The prosecution case was that Byrne belonged to a gang involved in the offences. They included a burglary at a dwelling in Bunclody, a break-in at Macreddin Golf Club, a burglary on Carlow’s Athy Road and an assault and theft at an Esso filling station in Bunclody. The judgment described the allegations and evidence presented at trial; the Court of Appeal was considering the conviction appeal, not retrying those events.
A central issue was evidence from Des Kavanagh, an accomplice who had entered the Witness Protection Programme. The prosecution accepted at trial that his evidence was not corroborated. The defence argued that Kavanagh’s credibility was too weak for his evidence to be admitted or relied on safely, and criticised how Gardaí recorded and disclosed their dealings with him. The appeal court was not persuaded that Gardaí had acted improperly or that the case should have been withdrawn from the jury. It said accomplice and protected-witness evidence is generally admissible, with appropriate warnings, while leaving open the possibility of exclusion in extreme circumstances.
The court found that the trial judge had repeatedly and clearly warned the jury about the dangers of relying on uncorroborated accomplice evidence, including evidence from a witness in the protection programme. It rejected the challenges to the jury directions and the prosecution’s closing speech. The prosecution counsel had clarified that he did not mean to suggest Byrne had threatened Kavanagh.
The appeal court said the jury was entitled to assess Kavanagh’s evidence after hearing extensive cross-examination. It dismissed the appeal, leaving the convictions and sentence undisturbed.