The High Court has refused to prohibit the prosecution of Gareth Molloy on four endangerment charges arising from alleged driving at separate locations in Dublin on January 22, 2003.
Mr Molloy argued that he could not receive a fair trial because a Honda Civic central to the case had been returned to its owner before his lawyers had an opportunity to arrange an independent forensic examination.
Gardaí alleged that they pursued the Honda around the Spencer Dock and Seville Place area before it crashed into a Fiat Punto. Four occupants fled and were arrested. Garda Sean Walsh’s evidence was that he repeatedly saw Mr Molloy driving, kept him in sight after he left the driver’s door and apprehended him a few hundred metres from the crash. Mr Molloy denied on affidavit that he had been the driver.
The car was taken to a Garda compound but was inadvertently returned to its owner the following day. Gardaí had intended to examine it to establish its involvement in the collision, not to identify its driver. No fingerprints or clothing samples were taken from those arrested.
Mr Molloy was initially charged with a road traffic offence. That charge was struck out in July 2003 and he was instead charged with four counts of endangerment. His solicitors later sought information about forensic testing and, in December 2003, asked whether the car remained available for inspection.
Ms Justice Dunne held that Gardaí have a duty to seek out and preserve evidence bearing on guilt or innocence, but that duty must be applied reasonably to the circumstances of each case.
She found that forensic examination might have shown Mr Molloy had been inside the car but could not realistically establish whether he was driving at the relevant time. That issue would depend principally on eyewitness and identification evidence at trial.
The judge also found that the delay in seeking inspection barred the application. Mr Molloy had known from his arrest that Gardaí alleged he was the driver but did not seek access to the vehicle for many months.
The application for prohibition was refused.