Man cleared of throwing petrol bomb at Garda speed-trap van
Judge David Riordan directed a jury to find Gareth Hill, of 26 The View, Gleann na Rí, Tower, Blarney, Co Cork, not guilty following legal submissions.
Ciarán Ó Loughlin, senior counsel for Hill, argued successfully that the defendant’s arrest was unlawful as the arrest was made for having a firearm contrary to the Offences Against the State Act. Mr O’Loughlin argued that a petrol bomb was classified as a firearm under the act, but that a petrol bomb consisted of a glass bottle with petrol and a lighting rag. In this case the article was made using a plastic bottle which could be classified as a weapon but not as a firearm on the basis that a plastic bottle would have burned out rather than exploded.
Because the arrest was deemed unlawful, evidence that flowed from the arrest became inadmissible. This included the taking of Mr Hill’s fingerprints.
Prosecution barrister Donal McCarthy told the jury at the outset of the case that the evidence allegedly linking Hill to the offence was his fingerprint on the plastic lemonade bottle found inside the van.
Judge Riordan directed the jury to find Mr Hill not guilty on two counts related to the incident in the Blarney area in Aug 2009. Mr Hill was cleared of the charges of committing an arson whereby he caused damage by fire to a 08-registered Garda Gatso van with the intention of causing such damage or being reckless as to whether the damage was caused. Secondly, Mr Hill, aged 30, was cleared of intentionally or recklessly engaging in conduct, namely setting fire to the van occupied by Garda Paul Whooley, which created a substantial risk of death or serious injury.
The incident occurred on Aug 27, 2009, at Booleypatrick, Tower, Blarney, Co Cork.
That afternoon, Garda Paul Whooley said he set up his computer and camera equipment in the van for the detection of any cars exceeding the speed limit.
Garda Whooley told the jury that shortly after 7pm he heard some loud bangs on the van and what he described as a petrol bomb was thrown into the vehicle which filled with black smoke in a matter of seconds. He was unable to open the sliding door and used a fire extinguisher to bring it under control.
Garda Whooley said that before he got out of the van, he was afraid the bottle was going to blow up. “I thought I was going to be seriously injured. I thought of my family, that I was never going to see them again. From start to finish it only took four or five minutes but it seemed like an eternity.”
