Garda accused of believing witnesses claims 'hook, line and sinker'

A ‘tick list’ of drug debtors and creditors found on a murder victim had no reference to any of the men on trial for his murder at the Central Criminal Court.

The list of ten initials or names and amounts totalling €243,000 was found on 33-year-old John Carroll after he was shot dead in a Dublin pub more than two years ago.

Father-of-two Bernard Hempenstall (aged 28) from Park Terrace, The Coombe; Peter Kenny (aged 28) of McCarthy’s Terrace, Rialto; Damien Johnston (aged 27) of Cashel Avenue, Crumlin; and Christopher Zambra (aged 35) of Galtymore Road, Drimnagh have all pleaded not guilty to murdering the father-of-three.

He was killed while socialising in Grumpy Jack’s Pub in the Coombe just after 9.30pm on February 18, 2009.

Pádraig Dwyer SC, representing Mr Zambra, today handed Detective Sergeant Adrian Whitelaw a document as he sat in the witness box.

“Did you know that when Mr Carroll was shot dead, there was a tick list found on his person?” asked Mr Dwyer, explaining to the jury that this was a list a drug dealer would keep of money owed to him or by him.

Det. Sgt Whitelaw, a senior garda in the investigation, said he had never seen the list before but confirmed that it was a list of ten people with figures beside them. He agreed that there was nothing to suggest that any of the people before the court were on the list.

Mr Dwyer pointed out that the figures beside the names and initials ranged from €17,000 up to almost €79,500.

“The star witness in this case said he murdered Mr Carroll for €8,500,” he said, referring to Joseph O’Brien, who has admitted being involved in the plot to kill Mr Carroll. Mr O’Brien was granted immunity in exchange for testifying against the four defendants.

“Here you have a tick list of a quarter of a million euro and you’re not aware of it,” said Mr Dwyer.

Det. Sgt Whitelaw said other gardaí would have been dealing with it.

“Not according to the papers we received,” replied Mr Dwyer.

The detective sergeant said he also had never seen a report from 2005 in which Mr O’Brien said he was trying to kill a notorious gangster.

“The report came as a surprise to me,” he said.

He acknowledged that phone records showed that there was no communication between Mr Zambra and O’Brien at the time that O’Brien said there was.

He said it was not his function to compare what O’Brien told him with the contents of his phone records.

Det Sgt Whitelaw denied having "a closed mind in relation to this investigation" or being "prepared to swallow hook, line and sinker everything Joey O’Brien was saying".

He agreed that the phone records showed that a man called John Gantley had extensive contact with O’Brien on the night of the murder.

He agreed that O’Brien stated he had met Mr Gantley and Mr Johnston the day before the murder but that Mr Gantley later denied this.

Mr Justice Barry White asked the detective sergeant if he had gone back to O’Brien with this denial.

“I don’t think so,” he replied.

The judge asked him if it would not have been prudent to clarify what the truth was.

“I know Mr Gantley. He wasn’t going to co-operate,” he replied. “We weren’t going to get anything from him.”

The trial continues before Mr Justice and a jury of eight men and four women.