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A 30-year-old man has been jailed for three weeks and fined 2,000 euros for failing to testify during the trial of Aaron Brady, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of Garda detective Adrian Donohoe.
Father of two, Colin Hoey of O’Neill Estate, Cregganduff in Co Armagh pleaded guilty to contempt of court.
He had given Aaron Brady an alibi for the night Brady shot dead Garda Detective Adrian Donohoe seven and a half years ago.
Hoey and Brady had been friends since elementary school and both lived in the same house at the time of the murder.
Hoey told Gardaí that he and Garda’s convicted murderer had seen a movie together that night.
However, he later withdrew that statement and did not appear to testify during Brady’s trial.
He had “significant evidence” for the Superior Court to hear today and did not testify after he and his family received threats “backed by criminal or paramilitary elements.”
They contacted him and his father and hinted that it might not be in Hoey’s best interest to attend Brady’s trial.
Judge Michael White said today that he was sure Hoey and his family had taken the threats “very seriously.”
Hoey said he was a “very decent young man” from a “very decent family” who had been caught in a “very difficult situation”.
The judge also said he was “sure that the vast majority of decent people in southern Armagh” were “fed up and tired of criminals” invoking “the green flag” and intimidating witnesses.
He fined him 2,000 euros and imprisoned him for 21 days.
Gardaí continues to investigate allegations of witness intimidation, perverting the course of justice, and illegal use of cell phones in prison in connection with the Aaron Brady murder trial.
So far, seven people, including Brady, have been arrested.
Colin Hoey is the first person to be convicted of contempt of court in connection with the post-bullying case.
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