Dead man's arrest warrant cancelled

The Special Criminal Court today cancelled an arrest warrant for the Belfast man who died after shooting himself in a garda station last month.

Colm Peake, (aged 42,) died on February 20, 2002 after shooting himself in the head after walking into Fitzgibbon St garda station in Dublin on February 18th.

Today Assistant State Solicitor Ms Kathleen Leader applied for an arrest warrant issued by the Special Criminal Court on December 9, 1996 to be cancelled.

Mr Justice Diarmuid O' Donovan, presiding, said the court cancelled the warrant.

Mr Peake had failed to appear at the court on December 3, 1996 to answer firearms charges.

He had been charged at Dublin District Court with having one Browning 9mm calibre pistol, one Browning 9mm calibre magazine and 10 9mm rounds of ammunition for unlawful purposes on November 2, 1995 at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin.

The case was subsequently returned to the Special Criminal Court from the District Court and Mr Peake was granted bail.

After the shooting incident at Fitzgibbon St garda station gardai said that Mr Peake had been drinking and was seen acting erratically before he walked into the station.

Mr Peake who was originally from west Belfast had been linked to the INLA in the 1980's.