Garda murder-accused 'kept shooting until there was no ammunition left'

Stephen Silver told the court he struck Garda Horkan with the butt of the gun after the first shots were fired, saying he believed the garda was 'a heavy down from Dublin', who was trying to kill him

Stephen Silver has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Garda Horkan but guilty to manslaughter. File picture: Michael McCormack/PA

“I kept shooting until the gun finished and there was no ammunition left,” Stephen Silver has told the Central Criminal Court, describing the moment he killed Garda Colm Horkan with the garda’s own gun.

The jury in the trial of Mr Silver, 46, of Aughavard, Foxford, Co Mayo, also heard Mr Silver struck Garda Horkan with the butt of the gun after the first shots were fired, saying he believed the garda was “a heavy down from Dublin” who was trying to kill him.

Mr Silver has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Garda Horkan knowing or being reckless as to whether he was a member of An Garda Síochána acting in accordance with his duty at Castlerea, Co Roscommon on June 17, 2020. 

He has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and the jury has been told the main issue in the trial is Mr Silver’s state of mind at the time of the shooting.

Mr Silver on Wednesday told the trial he had his first mental health episode when he was 19, had been admitted to hospital 16 or 17 times and was told he had schizoaffective disorder.

On Thursday, Mr Silver gave evidence to defence counsel Maurice Coffey SC that he and his friend James Coyne were walking up Patrick Street on the night of June 17 when he noticed a car with a Dublin registration plate cruising behind them.

“There was one man in the car staring at me. He stopped and asked me who I was, and I said, ‘Who are you?’ and he said, ‘What’s your name?’ I said my name and he said, ‘I’m a guard.’ 

I didn’t believe he was a guard, he didn’t come across as one. He was wearing a Hilfiger jacket. It didn’t look like a jacket worn by a guard. I wondered what he wanted. He was right up to me, very close to me, and I said, ‘Stand back’.” 

 Mr Silver demonstrated in the witness box the move he used, and Mr Coffey described it as “a martial arts stance with the left hand out palm facing”. Mr Silver confirmed this was a defensive move.

“He moved back and I relaxed my stance, and then he stepped in and grabbed my left arm with his right hand. James said, ‘Jesus, Stephen, stop’, and the guard said, ‘James,’ as he grabbed me. I thought he was a drug dealer. I thought he was a heavy down from Dublin, he knew James. I didn’t know what was happening,” said Mr Silver.

Struggle

He said he and Garda Horkan struggled for a bit before Mr Coyne grabbed Mr Silver from behind and tugged at him.

“I fell to the ground on one knee. I was in the process of getting up and had my hand on his hip, and I felt the gun. I thought, ‘Oh shit, I’m going to be shot here’. 

"I pulled my hand away, and I put my hand on the gun getting up. His hand was now on the gun. We were both upright. He had his hand on the gun and I had my hand on the gun and we wrestled. The gun came out. I couldn’t tell you who took it out,” said Mr Silver.

He continued: “I pulled the trigger first and nothing happened. We both had a hold of the gun together. I pulled the trigger and nothing happened, then I pulled it again and there was a loud pop noise. I fired once again, then I pulled my finger off, then he fired it twice, and then it went off another two times after that. 

"Our hands were on the gun at the same time. Then he started falling, he lost the power in his hands. He was falling backwards and I hit him on the head with the butt of the gun. I was the only one who had the gun at that stage. 

"He released my arm and fell backwards and I started firing the gun at him. I was just afraid, full of adrenaline. I felt he was trying to kill me. I still thought he was an assailant. I kept shooting until the gun finished and there was no ammunition left. It happened so quickly.” 

He said the gardaí then arrived and he threw the gun away.

“After I finished shooting, I walked away. I could tell the gun was empty. I looked at it with disgust and threw it away. I was all over the place. It’s too hard to explain what was going through my mind,” he said.

Not aware of the gravity of the situation

Mr Silver said that he was not truly aware of the gravity of the situation until he was brought to the Central Mental Hospital. He told the court a week after being brought to the Central Mental Hospital, he started getting better and his thoughts were clearer. He said he was now on medication and given an antipsychotic injection every two weeks.

During cross-examination by counsel for the prosecution, Michael Delaney SC, Mr Silver confirmed that when he was being arrested, he said to gardaí, “I know what ye did to the black man in America.” 

Mr Silver confirmed that this was a reference to the death of George Floyd but denied he was making this reference in an attempt to put the gardaí on the same plane as the police killing an innocent man in America.

Detective Garda Colm Horkan. File picture

Mr Delaney asked him about remarks he made outside Mr Coyne’s house in the Knockroe estate in Castlerea on the night of June 17. Mr Silver said he accepted witness evidence that he had shouted, “I dare the armed squad to come down here now”.

“Another witness heard you say they would need a sniper to get a good shot,” said Mr Delaney.

“I don’t remember that,” replied Mr Silver.

Mr Delaney put it to him that his behaviour in Knockroe on the night, when he and Mr Coyne were riding a motorbike around the estate with no lights on and causing enough noise to disturb a number of residents, was designed to bring the gardaí down to Knockroe.

“No, it was seriously stupid, childish behaviour,” said Mr Silver, going on to deny Mr Delaney’s assertion that he had been “itching for a confrontation with the guards”.

Mr Delaney referenced a statement made by James Coyne in which Mr Coyne said Garda Horkan told Mr Silver he was arresting him.

“I agree that was probably what he was trying to do. I didn’t hear him say it,” said Mr Silver.

Mr Delaney said during an interview in the Garda station, Mr Silver agreed with Mr Coyne’s statement that Garda Horkan had said he was arresting him.

“During interview, I wasn’t my full self. I was making mistakes. I just wanted out of there, I just wanted everything to be over,” said Mr Silver, going on to say he agreed with Mr Delaney that what he said in the Garda station was different from what he was now telling the jury.

Mr Delaney put it to Mr Silver that in the struggle with Garda Horkan, Mr Silver “was going to get the better of this man” whom he knew was a garda trying to arrest him.

“I didn’t know he was a guard,” said Mr Silver.

Mr Silver went on to agree with Mr Delaney that “it is far more likely” that it was Mr Silver who drew the gun from the holster and not Garda Horkan. He told Mr Delaney he shot Garda Horkan 10 times using every bullet that was left in the gun.

Mr Delaney said it was well known that detectives wear plain clothes on duty, to which Mr Silver agreed this had “alerted me to the possibility” that Garda Horkan was a detective.

Mr Delaney put it to him that in the course of the struggle, Mr Silver became aware of the gun on Garda Horkan’s hip.

“Who else but a guard would carry a gun in that way?” asked Mr Delaney.

“I don’t know, I’ve never experienced anything like that before,” replied Mr Silver.

Mr Delaney asked Mr Silver about losing his glasses in the struggle with Garda Horkan and how he said he could not see without them.

“Your eyesight couldn’t be impaired that much because you managed to shoot him 10 times, you didn’t miss the target,” said Mr Delaney.

“I can see shapes,” said Mr Silver.

Mr Delaney referenced an occasion in the Garda station when Mr Silver seemed to be pretending to be asleep during an interview. He put it that Mr Silver had been “showing the guards who was in charge”.

“That was not my intention at all. I tried to rest my eyes,” said Mr Silver, going on to say that he was “being an asshole” by doing this.

Mr Delaney put it to him that this had been an attempt to control the interviews, an assertion Mr Silver denied. Mr Delaney said Mr Silver on many occasions tried to put the gardaí down during the interviews.

“I wasn’t behaving very well at all,” replied Mr Silver, admitting he had been “very ignorant” to younger gardaí at the station.

The trial continues on Friday before Ms Justice Tara Burns and the jury of seven men and five women.