Belfast man jailed for handgun possession

A Belfast man has been jailed for nine years for possessing a handgun in suspicious circumstances following a garda chase last year.

Mark Fitzpatrick (aged 24), who has 132 previous convictions in the North, claimed to be under threat from paramilitaries and said he had "plates and pins" in his body from being shot on a previous occasion.

Fitzpatrick, of Rossnareen Avenue, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of a firearm in suspicious circumstances in the car park of Liffey Valley Shopping Centre on April 18, 2007.

Judge Tony Hunt said Fitzpatrick's fear of paramilitaries was "not an excuse" for criminal activity but suspended the final two years of his sentence.

Garda Angela McIntyre told Mr Remy Farrell BL, prosecuting, that that she was on mobile patrol with a colleague on the Neilstown Road when they observed a silver Audi A4 driven by Fitzpatrick reverse out of a gateway and accelerate away from them as they approached.

Gda McIntyre said they pursued the car down the Coldcut Road where it cut across two lanes of traffic and then drove against the flow of traffic into a car park exit for Liffey Valley. She observed the passenger in the car bend down and handling something at his feet.

The car came to a halt when it entered a cul de sac in the service area of the cinema car park. Fitzpatrick was arrested and when the passenger got out a handgun was found in a foot well.

The mobile phones of the men were examined by gardaí and a text message was found advising Fitzpatrick to get a gun "for his own protection." The gun was examined and found to be a semi-automatic pistol loaded with six rounds of ammunition.

Gda McIntyre said Fitzpatrick had 132 previous convictions in the North, including 50 for burglary, as well as others for theft, criminal damage, and road traffic and drugs offences.

Defence counsel, Mr Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, said Fitzpatrick was a criminal who claimed to be "under threat from paramilitaries from the north." He said Fitzpatrick had no previous convictions for possession of firearms or for violence and was living a "chaotic lifestyle revolving around drugs."

He said Fitzpatrick had "plates and pins" in his body from being shot before and said he had made a number of suicide attempts.

He said a psychiatric report showed Fitzpatrick was suffering "extreme trauma and stress arising from his own actions and the very serious fears he is in because of the extreme action being threatened by paramilitaries.