Murder_of_David_Douglas

Murder of David Douglas

Murder of David Douglas

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David "Daithí" Douglas, an Irish zookeeper turned criminal, was shot dead on 1 July 2016.[1] He had convictions dating from the 1980s as well as more recent ones and had survived a shooting the previous November.[1] His murder is part of the Hutch–Kinahan feud.[1] In August 2018 'Fat' Freddy Thompson was found guilty of the murder by the Special Criminal Court.[2]

Criminal history

In 1983 Douglas received a sentence of twelve years at the Special Criminal Court for shooting with intent to kill a Garda during an armed robbery at an Allied Irish Banks sub-branch at Wang Laboratories in Castletroy, Limerick in 1982.[1][3][4] He had been a member of the Provisional IRA.[3] It has been alleged that he was kicked out of the IRA because of his involvement with illegal drugs.[3]

Shortly after sentencing for his part in the 1982 raid on AIB in Wang laboratories, Douglas was sentenced for three other offences committed in 1982:[4]

  • The theft of IR£17,000 from ESB offices on Kylemore Road, Ballyfermot in February 1982.[4]
  • The theft of IR£2,000 in cash and IR£7,000 in jewellery from a woman who owned an amusement arcade in Rathmines.[4]
  • The theft of IR£98,000 from a post office in Tallaght.[4]

He told Gardaí that these raids had been carried out on behalf of the Provisional IRA, which the Gardaí accepted.[4]

Douglas was released from prison in the mid 1990s, resumed his criminal activities, and became increasingly involved in illegal drug trafficking.[4]

In 2008 Douglas was stopped in a taxi with three other men near Pearse Street. Gardaí recovered a black holdall containing 8kg of cocaine.[1][4][5] Telephone records from the previous three months linked the men.[5] These drugs were trafficked by the Kinahan cartel.[1][4]

In December 2011, Douglas was sentenced to ten years, with five suspended.[1][5][6] He was also involved in dogfighting.[7]

Douglas had links to the Hutch gang, as well as George Mitchell and a gang in Finglas.[1]

2015 shooting

A senior member of the Kinahan gang survived an assassination attempt in November 2015 at a pub in West Dublin.[4] The Kinahan gang blamed Douglas and an associate of his, Darren Kearns, who had convictions for drug dealing.[4] Kearns was shot dead at the end of December 2015, with Gardaí believing that his death was the work of the Kinahan gang and that it was feud-related.[4] Gardaí concluded that David Douglas was in a pub in the north inner city at the time of the attempted assassination and was not directly involved.[8]

Douglas was shot in November 2015 while walking his dog near his home.[1][5][6] His wife insisted after this shooting that he was a law-abiding citizen.[1]

2016 shooting

He and his wife ran the Shoestown shop on Bridgefoot Street, where he was shot at about 4:10 pm on 1 July 2016.[1][6][9] He was treated by paramedics at the scene and then taken to St. James's Hospital, where he died.[9] He had been shot six times.[2]

A handgun was recovered at the scene of the shooting.[6] A stolen Mercedes car that detectives believed was used in the killing was found burnt out.[6]

Aftermath

Trial of Freddy Thompson

In November 2016, "Fat" Freddy Thompson was charged with the murder of David Douglas.[10] In August 2018, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to a mandatory life sentence by the Special Criminal Court.[2]

Justice Hunt said that the prosecution had not claimed that Thompson was the shooter, but that he was involved, specifically driving a Ford Fiesta closely involved with the crime.[2] As well as interacting with suspects, it drove past Shoestown four minutes before the murder.[2]

Thompson was caught on CCTV dismantling a mobile phone and acting in a furtive manner.[2] He was seen later that evening in a restaurant having a meal with two men suspected of being part of the murder plot.[2]

The defence has said that while Thompsons' behaviour was 'suspicious' it fell short of the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.[2] Justice Hunt said that any innocent explanation of the various threads of evidence required “an excessive reliance on unlucky coincidence”.[2] The court had taken into account Thompsons' failure to answer Garda's questions about his movements on that day.[2] Thompson also refused to answer questions about cars and fingerprint evidence that placed him in one of the vehicles.[2]

Justice Hunt sympathized with the family of the murder victim, particularly his daughter, who witnessed the murder.[2]

Superintendent Paul Cleary said outside that the Douglas family was satisfied with the verdict and that the investigation is ongoing.[2]

Counsel for Thompson said the verdict would be appealed.[citation needed]

Trial of Nathan Foley

Nathan Foley of Rosary Road, Maryland, Dublin, admitted assisting the killers of Daithi Douglas and was sentenced to six years in prison in January 2019.[11] He drove one of the four cars used in the murder, as well as buying phones used in it.[11] He was the second person to be jailed in connection with the murder.[11]

Trial of Gareth Brophy

In January 2020, Gareth Brophy pleaded guilty to being involved in the murder.[12] He was 25 and from Reuben Walk in Dublin 8.[12] He was the driver of the getaway car.[12] In February 2020, he was sentenced to ten years in prison, with the final six months suspended.[13] The sentence was backdated to 18 November 2018 - the date he went into custody.[13]

Trial of Lee Canavan

In May 2021 Lee Canavan was found guilty of the murder.[14] The Special Criminal Court did not accept that there was evidence that he had shot Douglas, but ruled that he was part of a joint enterprise to murder as part of a "meticulously planned execution".[14] Canavan, from Edenbrook in Rathfarnham was also found guilty of a second charge of criminal damage to a Suzuki Swift at Strand Road, Sandymount on 4 July 2016.[14] The car belonged to Theresa Devoy.[14] He is the half-brother of Gareth Brophy.[14]

On 3rd Jun 2021 he was jailed for life for his part in the murder.[15]

2020 arrest

In May 2020, a man in his 30s was arrested in connection with the murder after being extradited from the UK.[16]

References

  1. [1]
    MacMahon, Cathal (1 July 2016). "Former Dublin zookeeper turned drug dealer is victim of latest shooting". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  2. [2]
    "Freddie Thompson found guilty of feud murder of David Douglas". TheJournal.ie. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  3. [3]
    Foy, Ken (2 July 2016). "Former zookeeper survived earlier attempt on life by Cabra mob". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  4. [4]
    "Daithí Douglas: victim had long history of criminal activity". The Irish Times. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  5. [5]
    Feehan, Conor; Foy, Ken; O'Keefe, Alan (9 November 2015). "Criminal shot three times just 100 yards from his front door". Irish Independent. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  6. [6]
    Lally, Conor; Gleeson, Colin (1 July 2016). "Handgun recovered by gardaí after gangland killing in Dublin". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  7. [7]
    Mooney, John (12 June 2011). "Jailed zoo keeper was dog fighter". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  8. [8]
    "Mother of Kinahan hitman is 'sick to her stomach' over his gangland crimes". Irish Independent. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  9. [9]
    Lally, Conor (2 July 2016). "Gardaí believe gangland killing linked to the Kinahan-Hutch feud". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  10. [10]
    "Freddie Thompson charged with murder of David Douglas". TheJournal.ie. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  11. [11]
    Reynolds, Paul (25 January 2019). "Man jailed for six years for role in Douglas murder". RTE News. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  12. [12]
    Reynolds, Paul (13 January 2020). "Getaway driver admits role in Daithi Douglas murder in Dublin". RTE News. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  13. [13]
    O'Donnell, Orla (17 February 2020). "Getaway driver jailed for role in Douglas murder". RTÉ News. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  14. [14]
    Neilan, Paul (20 May 2021). "Man (31) found guilty of the murder of Daithí Douglas in Dublin". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  15. [15]
    "Man jailed for life over role in murder of David 'Daithi' Douglas". RTÉ News. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  16. [16]
    Murray, Sean (19 May 2020). "Man (30s) arrested today for 2016 Dublin feud murder after extradition from UK". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
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