PJ Mansfield cleared as judge directs not guilty verdict in ammunition trial

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

Patrick James (PJ) Mansfield, son of the late billionaire Jim Mansfield, was cleared at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after Judge Cormac Quinn directed the jury to return a not guilty verdict on the third day of his trial. He had pleaded not guilty to charges of possessing 1,252 rounds of .22 calibre ammunition without a firearms licence on January 29th, 2015, at his former home in Coldwater Lakes, Saggart, Co Dublin.

Judge Quinn told the jury the prosecution had not proved how many rounds of ammunition Mansfield was entitled to possess, so jurors would be speculating about how many he was not entitled to hold. The jury had seen a photograph of one side of his firearms certificate, which showed he was authorised to hold a Walther .22 pistol. The other side, which would have shown how many rounds he was permitted, was not produced. The judge added that the person who authorised the certificate had not been called as a witness.

The trial heard that gardaí searched the house and recovered a legally held pistol and a licensed shotgun, along with a large quantity of ammunition. Mansfield has no previous convictions.