Cork man denied knowing a loaded gun was in the car

Defendant said he knew there was a jerry-can of petrol in the Audi

Armed support was requested to attend the scene in Cork, examine the gun, and make sure it was safe.

A man who claimed he was paid €500 to park a car in a housing estate in the early hours of the morning denied knowing there was a loaded pistol inside.

A jury of seven men and five women delivered a unanimous verdict of guilty against Jonathan O’Sullivan on a charge of possessing the gun and not guilty in relation to a separate ammunition charge.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin remanded the accused in custody until February 5, 2021, for sentencing.

When questioned by gardaí about what they found in the car he denied ever knowing anything about the loaded gun on the floor.

He said he knew there was a jerry-can of petrol in the Audi and admitted, “I knew it wasn’t for fun, like”. However, O’Sullivan denied all knowledge of the loaded pistol on the floor in the front of a black Audi car in the early hours of the morning.

O’Sullivan, age 40, of 55 Barrett’s Buildings, Gurranabraher, Cork, was on trial at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

He denied possession of the automatic pistol and the ammunition.

The firearm charge stated: “On March 23 at Ardcullen, Hollyhill, Cork, he did have in his possession a firearm, to wit, a black. .380 ACP calibre Grand Power model G9A automatic pistol in such circumstances as to give rise to a reasonable inference that he had not got it in your possession for a lawful purpose.” 

The wording on the second charge referred to a .380 ACP calibre round of ammunition.

Revving engine

Gardaí got a call about a dark Audi A4 acting suspiciously by revving the engine in Ardcullen estate at around 1.20am.

Garda Keith Shire approached the parked car with nobody inside and observed on the footwell at the driver’s side, between the seat and the pedals, a handgun.

“I requested armed support to attend the scene, examine the gun, and make sure it was safe. I checked the bonnet, it was warm, it had been running quite recently,” said Garda Shire.

He checked the registration number through garda colleagues and was told the reg belonged to a Toyota Yaris. It was later found that the chassis number had been scratched off the engine of the Audi, said Garda Shire.

Garda Annmarie Fitzgerald saw O’Sullivan further down the road and spoke to him. Garda Shire noted that O’Sullivan appeared quite nervous when talking to Garda Fitzgerald.

Garda Shire said his colleague was not satisfied with the reasons the man gave for being in the area at that time. At first, he said he was visiting a friend’s house at The Meadows but did not give this man’s name. Then, he said he was calling to a woman, whose name he did give, but could not say what her address was.

Gun made safe

Garda Keith Mills from the armed support unit opened the door of the car and made the gun safe. He found one round of ammunition in it but not in the breach of the firearm.

Defence senior counsel, Siobhán Lankford, said: “The accused said he did not know there was any firearm in the vehicle. It certainly was not visible.” 

Garda Shire testified that the gun was between the pedals and the seat and was visible on the floor of the car when he was standing beside the car looking into it.