Jury discharged after deadlock

The jury in a trial of father of five accused of possessing firearms at a Dublin flat complex has been discharged after it failed to reach a verdict.

Michael Fagan (aged 34), of Sean McDermott Street Upper, had pleaded not guilty to possessing two sawn-off shotguns and two rounds of ammunition found wrapped in plastic bags in back garden scrubland in the early hours of April 29, 2006.

The jury of six men and six women told Judge Martin Nolan they were deadlocked on day seven of the trial following four hours of deliberations. Judge Nolan thanked the jurors and discharged them from the trial.

Judge Nolan remanded the case for mention at the end of this month for a new trial date to be set.