Man jailed for TV show contestant gun attack

A man who fired a shotgun blast into the rear window of a former RTE's Treasure Island contestant's car because he wrongly believed he was having an affair with his partner has been jailed for three years by Judge Desmond Hogan.

Declan Murray admitted to his partner, Sabrina Genisi, that he had an affair and she in turn replied that she was "being pursued" by Mr Tom Barton, who reached the final two in the RTE reality series in 2001.

Detective Garda Kevin Daly said Ms Genisi knew Mr Barton because she was a receptionist at his general practitioners.

Murray got a loan of a shotgun after the men had an argument over the phone in which Murray told him he was going to shoot him in the leg and put him in a wheelchair.

He went to Mr Barton's house but he and some members of his family saw Murray arrive with the shotgun from the back and ran out the front door. Murray then discharged a shot from the gun into the rear of Mr Barton's car and fled the scene.

Father-of-one Murray (aged 30), from Sillogue Road, Finglas, Dublin 11, but originally from Strabane, Co Tyrone, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm to Mr Barton and the unlawful possession of a sawn-off shotgun on September 14, 2002.

Judge Hogan suspended the last two years of the sentence because Murray had fully cooperated with the gardaí and expressed genuine remorse

"These events were occasioned in the depths of a family having difficulties of an emotional nature and while within this context you may have been the author of his own misfortune in that his partner did tell him a mistruth," Judge Hogan told Murray.

He said the consequences of that mistruth were terribly serious because he decided to take the law into his own hands in an arbitrary and violent way.

"I've been asked to accept that he fired the shot in such a way as not to injure Mr Barton but it was a sawn-off shotgun fired in a public place. If I ask myself is this the type of offence whereby a jail sentence should be imposed the answer to that is yes," Judge Hogan added.

Detective Daly said Murray, who runs his own roofing business, first called to Mr Barton's house the evening before the incident and got a shovel from his van. Mr Barton tried to defend himself and punched Murray in the face twice.

He was knocked unconscious for a moment and Mr Barton rang the emergency service but Murray got up and left before they arrived. He returned the following morning and left his business card on a window sill when he got no answer.

Mr Barton rang the mobile number when he found the card because he had no idea what the incident was about. The discussion became heated and Murray threatened to shoot Mr Barton. He got a loan of the shotgun for a small fee and went back around to the house.

After the shooting incident Murray was arrested in Ballymun town centre but he didn't have the shotgun.

He fully cooperated with the garda investigation and said he would try to retrieve the firearm but was unable to because he feared for his own safety.

Det Gda Daly said Murray had written a letter to Mr Barton in which he apologised for the incident and there was a reply to that letter in court from Mr Barton who said he held no ill-will against Murray and fully accepted the apology.

Mr Luan O Braonain BL, for Murray, said his client had a serious alcohol addiction at the time and was drunk during both incidents.

He was now alcohol-free and had been seeing a psychotherapist for a number of months because of a depressive illness he had.

Mr O Braonain added that Murray had overdosed on sleeping pills last Monday morning and was admitted to James Connolly Memorial Hospital before being later discharged.

He was waiting to be assessed to see his suitability for a bed in St Vincent's Hospital in Fairview.