A man who admitted possession of a firearm and being part of a conspiracy to murder a target of the Kinahan crime gang has been jailed for 11 years.

Luke Wilson (23), who himself had been the victim of an attempted murder bid when his best friend shot him in the face five years ago, was recorded by gardai in “extensive discussions” about the murder plot. He said in an audio recording that he had “no problem” camping in the back of a van in order “to get” Gary Hanley and that he wanted “money not jail”.

The father-of-one also said: “He (Hanley) doesn’t even understand why our people want him gone, he is such a f***ing idiot”.

Wilson from Cremona Road in Ballyfermot, Dublin 10 admitted in July to conspiring to murder Mr Hanley at a location within the State between September 15th and November 6th last year. The offence is under Section 71 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.

He also pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to unlawful possession of a Beretta handgun with intent to endanger life at Philipsburgh Avenue, Fairview, Dublin 3 on November 6th last year.

Cog in the wheel

Passing sentence on Friday, Mr Justice Tony Hunt presiding at the non-jury court, said it was previously heard that a “vertical chain of command” existed and Wilson had no act or part in the “organisational part” of the endeavour. The judge said Wilson was heard on only two of the 23 audio transcripts which were available.

Mr Justice Hunt said Wilson had been described by gardai as “an essential cog in the wheel” but nonetheless he had performed an important role.

The judge referred to the fact that Wilson, who is now drug-free, could be heard snorting cocaine on a number of occasions in the audio recordings.

Mr Justice Hunt said it was without doubt that Wilson had a difficult start in life. The defence had previously handed into the court a psychiatric and probation report which revealed that Wilson’s mother had died from a drug overdose and he lived with his grandmother. “Cocaine and alcohol led to a fairly dysfunctional family. His personal circumstances are tragic and one would hope he can break that cycle going forward,” submitted Wilson’s barrister last month.

Gambling issues

The judge said Wilson was motivated by financial and gambling issues. There was reference to Wilson, who had agreed to carry out the killing, expecting a payment in the transcripts.

Referring to the firearm charge, the judge said this carried a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a minimum sentence of ten years.

Mr Justice Hunt said the headline sentence for the firearm offence was 16 years but he accepted there were mitigating factors in his favour, the “most weighty” one being his early guilty plea as well as personal mitigating factors which reduced this by 25 per cent.

The possession of a gun took place in “very proximate” circumstances and the event would have occurred without the intervention of gardai, said Mr Justice Hunt. “Very serious harm was intended and it was only prevented by good police work,” he added.

“He is now facing a long custodial sentence at a relatively young age and his constant medical condition will make life difficult for him in prison and upon his release,” the judge remarked.

Blind in one eye

Michael Bowman SC, defending Wilson, previously told the court that there was very significant trauma in his client’s life when he lost his eye at the age of 18 years after been shot in the face by his “lifelong best friend” as part of an attempted murder.

As a result, he developed post-traumatic stress disorder and fell into a deep depression. Wilson is fully blind in one eye and is losing the sight in his other eye but he is scheduled to have an operation on this eye in order to recover his sight which his barrister said was “disappearing rapidly”.

Sentencing the defendant today for the firearm charge, Mr Justice Hunt sitting with Judge Patricia Ryan and Judge Michael Walsh, sentenced Wilson to 12 years imprisonment with the final year suspended for a period of three years.

The judge emphasised that Wilson could “rest assured” that if he had contested the trial he would have received a sentence of 16 years. “The plea of mitigation saved him a significant period of time in custody,” he said.

Wilson also received a six-year concurrent sentence on the conspiracy charge, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.

“We assessed the headline sentence as eight years but as both offences arise out of the same transaction, it results in a concurrent sentence of six years on that count,” he concluded.

Wilson’s eleven-year jail sentence was backdated to when he was first arrested, on November 6th, 2017.

Before the court rose, Mr Justice Hunt addressed Wilson saying: “It’s a long sentence but we have no choice in that matter. You have saved yourself four or five years.”

Wilson replied: “I appreciate that your honour.”

Previous convictions

The defendant has 36 previous convictions at district court level which include theft and road traffic offences.

Speaking outside the Criminal Courts of Justice today, Detective Sergeant Seamus Boland from the Garda National Drug’s and Organised Crime Bureau, said today’s conviction is part of An Garda Siochana’s relentless focus on individuals who are willing to target other people for assassination.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the investigating officers for their dedication and professionalism particularly the officers from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and the security and intelligence section,” he said.

Det Sgt Boland also thanked the local community as he said without them today’s success would not have been achieved. “An Garda Siochana will continue to ensure adequate resources are allocated to our communities where people are willing to target other people for murder with firearms for financial gain,” he said.

Alan Wilson (39) of New Street Gardens, Dublin 8, Liam Brannigan (37) from Bride Street, Dublin 8 and Joseph Kelly (35) of Kilworth Road, Drimnagh, Dublin 12 are also charged with conspiring to murder Mr Hanley at a location within the State between the same dates.

Mr Kelly is also facing charges of the possession of a Beretta handgun and fifteen rounds of ammunition with intent to endanger life at Philipsburgh Avenue, Fairview, Dublin 3 on the same date.

A trial date for Alan Wilson, Mr Brannigan and Mr Kelly has been set for October 7th, 2019.

Garda operation

At the sentence hearing in July, Detective Inspector David Gallagher from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, summarised the facts of the case.

Det Insp Gallagher told prosecuting counsel, Sean Gillane SC, that gardai received confidential information in July 2017 in relation to a Seat Leon vehicle with false licence plates. An operation was undertaken by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau to concentrate on a number of vehicles including the Seat, a white Nissan Primastar van and a white Volkswagen Caddy as well as several individuals.

Luke Wilson was not on the radar of gardai in the early stages of the investigation but others were. Wilson only became “visible” to gardai on November 2nd.

The vehicles were put under surveillance between September 15th and November 6th as part of the investigation and CCTV footage was harvested.

The specific target was identified as Gary Hanley and as a result gardai began to monitor him as well as a vehicle registered to his partner. Two tracking devices were found underneath this vehicle on September 17th and they were removed. It became clear to gardai at this point that an operation had been put in place to attack Mr Hanley at his north Dublin home.

A number of reconnaissance trips had also been planned by individuals to plot routes to and from Mr Hanley’s address including the practicalities of “how, where and when to best target Gary Hanley”. There was also a discussion of the best time to carry out the act, how other vehicles were to be used to make good their escape as well as a plan to burn out the vehicles.

Audio material was harvested and “a tremendous dossier” of transcripts were build up by gardai in the months prior to November 2017.

Luke Wilson and another man carried out an early morning reconnaissance trip in the Caddy van on November 2 and audio recording revealed extensive discussions about the plan.

Luke Wilson said in the audio recording: “He doesn’t even understand why our people want him gone, he is such a f***ing idiot.”

Wilson continued: “I have a couple of ideas; you could sit in the back of the van and wait for him to come out.”

Another man said: “The only time you see him is when he’s standing at the door.” Wilson replied: “That’s the perfect opportunity.”

Wilson and the other man talked about a big security door as well as a camera at Hanley’s home. The two men feared that if Hanley was standing at his door, he would slam it, go back in behind it and they would not be able to “get him”.

Wilson discussed in the audio recording what would happen if Hanley made “a dash” for it. The men also discussed the switching of vehicles, referred to as “the switch”.

There was an audio recording of the two men saying they weren’t happy “going at” the door with a crowbar as it would take too much time and alert the neighbours.

Wilson said: “I have no problem camping in the back of the van and waiting for an opportunity to get him because he is going to come out at some stage.”

Wilson called it a “kamikaze idea” and commented: “It’s a mad idea, is there no one who can draw him out.”

The two men discussed the best way “to get” Hanley and knew he went to the gym at 5pm each night. “I was told he comes out into the garden on the phone. That’s the opportunity we want to be taking,” commented Wilson

Wilson agreed with the other man that its “all about getting him” and said “more homework has to be done. We are the one’s risking our lives. No more jail, we want money not jail”.

There were further audio recordings from the Seat vehicle on November 6 when it is parked in Dublin 2. Luke Wilson joined two men in the car and was told by one of the men that the Seat was the fastest car as it was a “turbo”.

Reference was made to torching the vehicle and the collection of “a toy” in Glasnevin. The vehicle stopped at one stage in the recording and an individual was heard handing something into the car. Wilson is heard mentioning the Beretta and the words “leather him out of it” in the chest.

An operational plan had been put in place by gardai to intervene the attack, the court heard, and the Volkswagen Caddy was intercepted in Dublin 3 on the evening of November 6.th Wilson was in the back of the van at the time with a dark holdall bag containing a 9mm semi-automatic pistol with a silencer, 15 rounds of ammunition and a black ski mask in his pocket. Three containers of petrol were later found in the rear of the van.

Michael Bowman SC, defending Wilson, previously submitted to the court that the single mitigating factor was his client’s acknowledgement of his involvement and the fact he had owned up early to this.

Mr Bowman also said Wilson was “enormously relieved” that gardai intervened when they did as otherwise it would have resulted in “far worse consequences” for his client.