Niall Sheerin, 29, pleaded guilty earlier this year to possession of a pistol and ammunition with intent to enable another person to endanger life.
Mr Mallon said the prosecution did not contend that Sheerin had a role in the events surrounding the shooting of Ms McKee. The barrister said the defendant is a father of three young children who had attained the role of manager in a bookmaker’s shop in Derry. “As a resident of Derry, the defendant would have been aware of New IRA activity in this area and would have been aware that the organisation carried out gun attacks, including punishment shootings in the local area, as well as the murder of Lyra McKee for which the New IRA publicly accepted responsibility,” said barrister.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more: