Feuding Gang boss king ratt's cousin facing weapons charges
THIS is the young cousin of gang boss King Ratt, who is being prosecuted on weapons and public order charges.
Aaron Rattigan (20) has appeared in court in connection with a disturbance in The Coombe, Dublin, a month after he was arrested for allegedly carrying a knife in the south inner city.
Dublin District Court heard the DPP is considering bringing further more serious charges against him arising from the public order incident. Meanwhile, the weapons case has also been adjourned.
King Ratt's cousin was remanded on continuing bail last week following this latest court appearance. He will appear again in court next month.
The accused, with an address at Galtymore Road, Drimnagh, is charged with public drunkenness and causing a breach of the peace at Wexford Street on March 13.
A garda sergeant told the court the State was seeking a remand because the DPP was considering "possible further charges of a more serious nature".
Judge Hugh O'Donnell asked the defendant if he had legal representation.
"Yeah, O'Higgins," Rattigan replied, referring to his solicitor, Cahir O'Higgins.
The weapons case is over an incident on March 18, when he was arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession of a knife at Dillon Place South in Dublin 8.
King Ratt is the leader of a gang involved in the deadly Crumlin-Drimnagh gang war.
The weapons charge against his cousin came after a wave of violence that has threatened to reignite the Crumlin Drimnagh feud, which has claimed the lives of 16 people.
Two shootings that took place at houses in Crumlin in March are believed to be linked to an earlier pub brawl in which a brother of 'Fat' Freddie Thompson -- Richie Thompson -- had his leg broken.
The gun attacks heightened fears that the uneasy peace had been shattered. The truce had been renegotiated by clergy with the assistance of older women linked to young men involved in the gangs.But the negotiations, part of an ongoing process which has kept the seal on the blood-letting for almost two years, are under threat after the pub attack.
Taxi driver Richie Thompson (34) sustained a leg fracture and his wife Catherine Thompson (34) was knifed in the arm in the attack at the Karma Stone Bar on Wexford Street.
Members of the Emergency Response Unit were deployed in south Dublin at the time, but despite this gunmen still carried out a subsequent attack.
A drive-by shooting took place at a house in Crumlin while the other shooting happened on Kildare Road, Crumlin.
Gardai now closing in on mystery hitman Mr Z
CHILLING: David Patchell begins life in jail for murder - but justice won't be done until other gunman is caged
DETECTIVES are closing in on Mr Z -- the gangland killer who murdered Tallaght man Stephen O'Halloran.
Descriptions of the mystery hitman were given at the trial of David Patchell, who was convicted of murdering O'Halloran in a cold-blooded gangland hit in Tallaght two years ago.
The killer has not been charged with murder -- but gardai are aware of his identity and he may yet face the courts.
The jury at Patchell's murder trial heard how the unnamed hitman fired seven shots during the murder of Stephen O'Halloran and the wounding of two of his friends on the night of January 19, 2009.
The shooter used his left hand -- as his right was in plaster.
Patchell, from Rossfield Crescent, Tallaght, this week began a life sentence for the murder. The chilling build-up to the hit was revealed during his trial.
toured
Mr Z was one of three men who were in a car earlier on the night of the killing with Patchell as they toured the Tallaght area looking for their target, Mr O'Halloran.
In court the three with Patchell were initially only identified as X, Y and Z.
It was later revealed by defence counsel Brendan Grehan that X was 21-year-old Paul Byrne who went missing on July 15 2009 -- six months after the murder.
His body was found in the Dublin Mountains on Thursday July 29, 2010.
Det Garda David Jennings was told by Patchell that he (Patchell), Paul Byrne and Y were supplied with new SIM cards for mobile phones on the day before the shooting. Y was never named.
sniff
Mr Z only joined the others in the car at a late stage on that night.
He had seven bullets in his Glock while Patchell's had only three.
A bogus arrangement had been made by phone to join Mr O'Halloran for "a sniff" of cocaine.
Patchell said there was no plan, and that he had never fired a gun before.
He claimed to have carried out the shooting to clear a €5,000 debt after he was threatened by a gang who blamed him for losing cocaine.
The hitman Mr Z was the last person to get into the car -- the court heard that he was smaller than Patchell and physically "unremarkable".
They were dropped off and made their way to Kilmartin Drive on foot.
They crept up, sidling along the wall, before opening fire on either side of the Renault in the driveway of Mr O'Halloran's home.
Mr Z fired with his left hand as his right hand was in plaster.
Mr O'Halloran died at the scene while the two passengers, Paul Core and Anthony Harte survived, despite being wounded twice.
After the deadly attack on Mr O'Halloran, Patchell said he called Paul Byrne and Mr Y, as well as his girlfriend Rachel Hall and Paul Byrne's girlfriend Martina McQuillan.
Patchell eventually -- in his 13th interview -- told Det Garda Padraig Mullarkey the identity of Mr Z.
ironically
But he pleaded with him not to reveal this until his parents were "safe" and out of Tallaght.
He said he was afraid of the hitman and his gang.
Ironically, victim Stephen O'Halloran's mother, Samantha Dunne, told the Central Criminal Court that she and her family had left Tallaght on the night of the murder "with just the clothes on our backs".
They have never returned to Tallaght.
Woman (21) beat up two prison guards
A WATERFORD woman has been sentenced to three years for two separate assaults on female prison guards in the Dochas Centre.
Karen Kelly (21) punched one guard, threw her to the ground and was about to kick her in the face when she was stopped by other officers.
She also admitted assaulting another guard in the prison a year later after she thought the guard had insulted her.
Kelly, of William Street, Waterford, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting prison officer Aine Hennessy on October 16, 2008.
She further pleaded guilty to assaulting Catherine Dowling on July 29, 2009.
Dangerous
Judge Tony Hunt imposed 18-month sentences for each attack but suspended the latter on strict conditions. She will begin the sentence when she finishes her current jail term in May.
Judge Hunt said that "prison officers carry out a very dangerous job" and must be protected.
"When an inmate assaults a prison officer there has to be consecutive sentences, otherwise they would have complete impunity."
Detective Garda Alan Fitzgerald told prosecuting counsel Ronan Kennedy that Ms Hennessy was bringing the prisoners back into their cells when an inmate asked to go into Kelly's cell to get something. Ms Hennessy refused as this was against regulations. While this was happening, Kelly went behind the guard and rubbed her nose on Ms Hennessy's sleeve. Ms Hennessy told her to stop and Kelly started shouting in her face.
When the guard turned her head away, Kelly punched her in the left temple. She then hit her again and pushed her into the wall, where she continued punching her in the lower back.
She knocked the radio out of Ms Hennessy's hand before throwing her to the ground. Kelly was preparing to kick her in the face as she was tackled by other guards.
The guard was brought to hospital and treated for jaw injuries and muscle damage to her lower spine. She has since been transferred to the male prison in Mountjoy.
Paranoid
Det Garda Fitzgerald said Kelly has a history of violence and was serving three years for an assault at the time.
Defence counsel Sandra Frayne said Kelly, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, wished to apologise to the guard. Garda Keith Fox gave evidence that a year later Kelly attacked Ms Dowling at the prison. She had grabbed her by the hair, punched her, and pinned her to the ground.
Garda Fox said Ms Dowling suffered post-traumatic stress disorder following the attack and was out of work for several weeks. She has since been moved to Mountjoy.