The driver of the getaway car used in the murder of David Douglas accidentally set fire to his trousers while trying to burn the stolen vehicle, the Special Criminal Court has heard.
On Monday, Det Garda Niall Godfrey agreed with Seán Gillane SC, for the State, that shortly after 4pm, on July 1st, 2016, a male in dark clothing, carrying a gun, entered Shoestown and shot Mr Douglas. The detective agreed the Mercedes was subsequently parked, two men got out and the car was set alight. He said during the bid to burn the car, the driver’s trousers “caught fire”.
Mr Gillane put it to Det Gda Godfrey that, moments after this, “very, very grainy [CCTV] footage” from which it is “impossible to identify the person”, shows a man walking towards Shoestown. The shooter was then seen running back towards the Mercedes which was then caught on CCTV “speeding down Francis Street” before the two men made a “switch” to the Suzuki Swift, the court heard.
Mr Gillane said: “The only inference I submit is that the chain of evidence shows that Mr Brophy was the driver of the Mercedes.”The court was told that Mr Brophy was arrested before midnight on November 18th, 2018, in Dolphin’s Barn.
Close call that one. If he had set fire to his jumper he would have been done for possession of a firearm.