Man found guilty of attempting to murder brother-in-law

A 20 year-old Crumlin man has been found guilty of attempting to murder his brother-in-law by firing a semi-automatic pistol twice at his head.

The weapon jammed allowing Patrick Collins to jump out of the bed he was sharing with his wife and child and escape from the gunman.

Charlie Darcy, of Crumlin Park, Crumlin, denied attempting to murder Mr Collins at Cooley Road, Drimnagh, on August 31, 2008. He also pleaded not guilty to aggravated burglary, in that he entered his sister’s home with the intention to commit murder while in possession of a firearm.

A jury of six men and six women deliberated for five hours over three days at the Central Criminal Court before convicting Darcy. It found him guilty unanimously of aggravated burglary, and guilty by a ten to two majority of attempted murder.

Mr Justice Paul Carney remanded Darcy in custody and set a sentence date of October 27 to allow time for reports to be compiled.

Gda Aidan Shaughnessy told the court that Darcy had 30 previous convictions and had spent a large portion of his life in detention. He had been released from a four-year sentence in Saint Patrick’s Institution three weeks before he tried to shoot Mr Collins.

The jury earlier heard that Mr Collins and his wife Linda, Darcy’s sister, went to bed at around midnight with their baby. They testified that they woke when they heard a noise outside their house.

Mr Collins said he looked out of the bedroom window and saw a man at his gate.

He picked up his mobile phone to ring the gardaí when two men burst into the room, followed by a third.

Mr Collins said that one man grabbed him, put a hand on one side of his head, placed a gun to the other side and said “you’re dead”. Mr Collins said “the trigger went and then it went again I said I’m not dead”. He managed to jump up, push the men out of his way and run downstairs and out of his house.

Mr Collins was dressed in his boxer shorts as he ran into the street and hid in a neighbour’s garden. The men followed him out of the house but left the scene as they heard gardaí approach.

Mr Collins said he knew that it was Charlie Darcy who put the gun to his head as he recognised his brother-in-law. He said that Darcy was wearing a scarf over his face but it had fallen down to his chin and Mr Collins could see that it was his wife’s brother.

Mrs Collins also told the court that she recognised her brother and saw his face at three points during the attack. She said she grabbed at her brother as he followed her husband down the stairs and asked him to stop.