Trial of Celbridge raid accused hears of gang hierarchy
The trial was heard in the Central Criminal Courts of Justice.
The trial of a man for an attempted raid on a cash-in-transit van in Celbridge has heard evidence from a superintendent that the accused “played a role” in the gang that had planned it.
Joseph Warren (30) of Belclare Crescent, Ballymun, has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to conspiring to steal cash from Chubb Ireland at Tesco supermarket on the Shackleton Road in Celbridge on November 2, 2007.
His trial has heard evidence from Detective Superintendent Dominic Hayes, who led the investigation into the Cellbridge raid, that Joseph Warren had a “role” in the gang but may not have had the expertise of others involved in it.
The gang also included the late Eamonn Dunne who was one of five other men arrested that day, and who, in the months leading up to his death, became a well known criminal figure.
The trial has explored the role that the various men played in the gang which is alleged to have carried out the raid.
In response to questioning by Ciaran O’Loughlin SC for the defence, Det Sup Hayes agreed that the late Eamonn Dunne was regularly stopped by gardai prior to the raid and considered “a significant player in the criminal underworld”.
He didn’t accept a suggestion from counsel that Dunne was the leader of this gang.
“That would not be an exact summation on my behalf that Dunne would be head of this gang. One of the things this gang was involved in was cash-in-transit robberies and there would have been others in the gang who had more expertise in this than Dunne,” Det Supt Hayes said.
He accepted a suggestion that the “attitude” in Dunne’s interview room and Mr Warren’s interview room was different in that while Mr Warren seemed polite, Dunne appeared more “truculent and abusive”.
“In these gangs there would be different roles and it would be interesting for us to understand the pecking order and structure of these gangs,” Det Supt Hayes said as an explanation for the line of questioning of Mr Warren.
Det Supt Hayes agreed that gardai suggested to Mr Warren that he was under threat but said this was one of a few different scenarios put to the accused during questioning.
“There was no evidence of any threat and if there had been it would have been investigated,” the witness said.
“In these gangs there would be different roles and it would be interesting for us to understand the pecking order and structure of these gangs,” Det Supt Hayes said as an explanation for the line of questioning of Mr Warren.
He added that Gardai were satisfied it was Mr Warren’s function to open the Chubb van with a consaw.
Det Supt Hayes further agreed that gardai believed Dunne was involved in drug dealing and a book found in his possession was put to him during garda interview as a list of names of people who owed him money for drugs.
The prosecution case has now closed and the trial continues before Judge Patrick McCartan and jury.
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