Thompson brothers and Robert Browne jailed over firearms offence

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

Gary Thompson and his brother Glen Thompson were each jailed for 12 years and six months at the Special Criminal Court on 29 July 2019. Robert Browne was sentenced to 11 years and six months.

All three had pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of four firearms with intent to endanger life. The offence took place at Belmont Hall Apartments, Gardiner Street, Dublin, on 10 March 2018.

Presiding judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt said the offence arose from an organised plan to murder Patrick “Patsy” Hutch. He set an 18-year headline sentence for each man and reduced it by 25% for their guilty pleas. All three sentences were backdated to 10 March 2018, when they went into custody.

At a hearing on 15 July, Detective Superintendent David Gallagher said most of the planning, logistics and financing were in place before the three men became involved. Gardaí arrested them after they entered a van in an underground car park about 250 metres from Mr Hutch’s home.

Browne told gardaí that a drug debt was the reason he became involved. His counsel said he joined the operation relatively late and took instructions rather than giving them; the judge accepted that he had taken instructions. Glen Thompson’s counsel said drug problems had led his client into debt and criminal activity.

This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.