The protected witness, Russell Warren, has claimed at the Special Criminal Court that John Gilligan threatened to kill him moments after he witnessed the murder of Veronica Guerin. 30-year-old Warren, serving five years for stealing the motorbike used in the murder and for handling the proceeds of drug trafficking, said that he spoke to Gilligan on a mobile phone just after he saw a gunman fire five shots into Ms Guerin's car.
He claimed that Gilligan said, “the same thing will happen to you and to your mate if you do anything about it”. Warren, who said that he was stunned and shattered by what he saw, said that Gilligan told him Ms Guerin was murdered because he did not want his business to be ruined. Warren, who claims that he collected and counted money for Gilligan, said that he was told to follow Veronica Guerin in her red Opel Calibra car when it left Naas courthouse on the day she was murdered.
He said that he was in continual mobile phone contact with Gilligan and the driver of the stolen motorbike, after he spotted Ms Guerin's car heading towards Dublin. Warren said that the motorbike, with a passenger, passed him and then he saw it stop at traffic lights in front of him. “I just saw the person on the back of the bike put his foot down to stabilise himself. He reached over to the roof of the Opel and he fired a shot. The bike was about four cars away. Then he fired another shot. He leaned over and then he fired three consecutive shots. He put the gun back around the waistband of his trousers, then they just drove off,” he added.
This is the 13th day of the trial of John Gilligan, 48, of Corduff Avenue, Blanchardstown, Dublin. He has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Sunday Independent crime reporter Ms Guerin, 37, at Naas Road, Clondalkin, Dublin, on 26 June, 1996. The prosecution has claimed that John Gilligan was in control and command of a criminal gang that imported and distributed large amounts of cannabis and that he organised the murder of Ms Guerin. The trial continues.
