Diver convicted of intimidation
Monday, 21 August 2006A 66-year-old Dublin man has been convicted of intimidating a witness who gave evidence against him in a murder trial.
John Diver from Walkinstown was aquitted of murdering his wife at a re-trial in the Central Criminal Court last month.
This afternoon, he was convicted of intimidating one of the witnesses in that case, his neighbour Jean Maher, by firing ball bearings at his shed with a catapult.
He was also convicted of criminally damaging Mr Maher's shed.
Mr Diver's two children gave evidence their father had bought the catapult to deal with stray cats in the garden but the judge said he was satisfied Mr Diver intended to antagonise a witness at the murder trial.
He ordered him to pay ¤375 for the damage to the shed and also fined him ¤750.
He also sentenced him to 6 months in prison but backdated the sentence to 14 February, when he was first arrested.
