Gardaí under scrutiny over Evan Fitzgerald case amid claim court was ‘misled'
Gardaí
are facing fresh questions about the prosecution of Evan Fitzgerald, who
took his own life with a stolen gun
after discharging it repeatedly in a
Carlow
shopping centre last month, after the case was raised in both the Dáil and Seanad.
On Wednesday an Oireachtas committee was told that Mr Fitzgerald was awaiting trial for possession of illegal weapons, that had been supplied to him in a Garda operation, when he took his own life.
On Thursday, the Labour TD Alan Kelly and the independent senator Michael McDowell raised the case in the Dáil and Seanad respectively, asking about court reports which suggested that the gardaí had told the judge in the case that they were 'investigating' how Mr Fitzgerald and others acquired the guns.
'The guns were actually given to him by An Garda Síochána ... How could they say in court that they didn't know where the guns came from?' Mr Kelly said.
READ MORE
The guns referred to were not used by Mr Fitzgerald in the fatal incident in the shopping centre but rather were those for which he was facing trial for possession of.
The guns used in the Garda operation were two firearms that were in Garda stores and had been decommissioned.
In the Seanad, Mr McDowell said: 'I am also very deeply concerned that, by informing the court that the gardaí were still investigating by whom the weapons in question were sold, the court was actively misled.'
Earlier, Mr McDowell told the Seanad: 'It now appears that gardaí had previously met at least one of the three persons charged and without revealing their identity had made arrangements for the firearms and ammunition in question to be delivered to the three young men.
'It further appears that a controlled delivery took place using weapons already owned or seized by An Garda Síochána,' Mr McDowell said on the Seanad order of business this morning.
'Following the controlled delivery, other members of An Garda Síochána intercepted a car in which the three young men were travelling, arrested them under The Offences Against the State Act and the court was told that all three admitted possession of the firearms in question.'
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Evan Fitzgerald case: How 'controlled deliveries' are used in Garda sting operations
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Mr McDowell went on to say: 'Media reports state that the court was informed that there was no suspected connection with organised crime or terrorism and that the guns were intended for target shooting 'in the woods'. The court was told the three young men were childhood friends and that one of them, the late Evan Fitzgerald had a 'fascination with firearms'.
'Very strangely, it appears from media reports that the court was also informed that gardaí were still investigating who had sold the firearms to the defendants, when the judge asked that question.
'I am deeply concerned that all of these events could have been avoided if diversion rather than entrapment and prosecution had been deployed by the gardaí.'
Mr McDowell said: 'I am also deeply concerned that the Garda watchdog, Fiosrú, has reportedly apparently indicated no concerns in relation to these events.'
He asked for a Seanad debate on the issue.
The Garda Press Office said it did not comment on 'third-party remarks nor on evidence provided in court'
.
However, a spokesman said that
'
without commenting on any specific case, An Garda Síochána uses a range of internationally recognised investigative techniques when tackling serious crimes such as drug dealing and procuring of firearms, either of which could then be used to cause significant harm to the public.
'One of these is controlled deliveries. In controlled deliveries any material used is made safe by the law enforcement agency before being used, ie firearms are deactivated.'
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