Neighbours tell court how sound of gunshots woke them up
Neighbours of a Limerick bouncer have told the jury in the trial of four men accused of the killing at the Central Criminal Court how they woke up of the night of the shooting to hear gunshots.
Gary Campion (aged 24) of Pineview Gardens, Moyross, Limerick, John (aged 27) and Desmond Dundon (aged 23) both from Ballinacurra Weston, Co. Limerick and Clare business man Anthony Kelly (aged 50) with an address at Killrush all plead not guilty to murdering 34-year-old Brian Fitzgerald, on November 29 2002 at Brookhaven Walk, Mill Road, Corbally, Limerick.
Ms Monica McElvanney, told Mr Denis Vaughan Buckley SC, prosecuting, that she was woken at 3.37am in the early hours of November 29 by someone shouting out "Oh God no!"
Almost immediately she heard two or three shots then a gap of around 30 seconds before another two or three shots sounded. Ms McElvanney said she stayed in bed terrified.
Ms Mary Mannix told Mr Sean Gillane BL, prosecuting, that she woke up just after 3.30am hearing four or six shots.
She heard a man crying or shouting out "help me, I'm being shot at."
Mr Patrick Healy, who also lived in the area told Mr Gillane that he had been leaving a friend's house on the street at around 1am when he saw a "filthy dirty" red Ford Mondeo, driving slowly down the road.
He could see the driver who he described as a "stocky, bald man". He became suspicious when the car made an awkward three point turn, "it was an absolutely disaster" but when he went towards the car to get a better look it sped away.
Another neighbour, Mr Paul O'Byrne told Mr Buckley that he had been woken by the sound of shots at around 3.45am.
He got up to phone the gardaí and saw a man walking past the window wearing a white motorcycle helmet with the visor down over his face. He heard someone shouting "hurry up" but wasn't sure whether it was the man he had seen.
Ms Elaine Murphy was also woken by the sound of gun shots. She looked out of the window and saw a man wearing a light coloured helmet and dark clothes walking away from the Fitzgerald's house.
A few minutes later she saw someone sprinting out of the estate "out of the corner of my eye" and a second man walking out of the estate.
She noted again he was wearing a light coloured helmet and dark clothes. She told Mr Gillane that she thought at first this man was injured but now wasn't sure. He was holding a gun.
The court also heard from Detective Garda Cahill Kavanagh from the Garda diving section. He told Mr Gillane how he recovered a 9mm semi-automatic pistol from the bed of the Mulcair River in Anacotty.
Detective Garda John Higgins told Mr Buckley that the weapon was a Czech made weapon which had been reactivated for normal use. He also told the court he had examined the victim's jeep, finding a canister of CS gas, a steel baton and a throwing knife in a leather sheath. He confirmed to Mr Roger Sweetman SC, defending Desmond Dundon, that he had found no sign of a handgun in the jeep.
Ms Caroline Daly, who worked as a bar manager in Dock's Nightclub, where Mr Fitzgerald was head of security, told Mr Gillane that on the night of the shooting, Mr Fitzgerald dropped her and some colleagues home. She confirmed that she had been in the jeep on several occasions but had never seen a handgun.
The trial continues at the Central Criminal Court sitting at Cloverhill before Mr Justice Peter Charleton and the jury of twelve men.
