Two men have gone on trial over the attempted murder of a 17-year-old youth in Dublin two years ago in what was described in court as "a hit, a well-planned assassination attempt".
31-year-old Stephen Mulvey and 27-year-old Jamie Berry, both with addresses at Leo Fitzgerald House, in Dublin 2, have pleaded not guilty to the charges at the Central Criminal Court.
The 17-year-old went to Eugene Street in Dublin's south inner city on 24 February, 2021 to visit a friend.
He then called a taxi to take him to Ballyfermot but when he got into the car at 10.55pm, two men approached and he was shot a number of times at close range.
He managed to get out of the taxi and tried to escape but was shot in the head, neck and right leg. The teenager suffered life-threatening injuries but was taken to St James’ Hospital.
He survived and recovered.
Two men were seen running from the scene. They got into a waiting car and drove off at speed.
A bullet was subsequently recovered from a nearby house in Eugene Street which had gone through the front door, a partition wall and ended up shattering the glass on the oven.
It is the prosecution’s case that Jamie Berry and Stephen Mulvey, along with a third man, were involved in "a well-planned assassination attempt".
Senior counsel Eilis Brennan told the jury that this was "a hit", that Jamie Berry was "the shooter" and that Stephen Mulvey was the other person out of the car to assist.
The third person was the driver of the getaway car waiting in a Hyundai hatchback at end of road.
That car, which she described as "the hot hatchback", was driven away and set on fire at nearby Sandford Gardens but gardaí arrived and a Beretta pistol was recovered from it.
The court heard the three men transferred to a waiting BMW which was "as luck had it" seen driving erratically near the M50 junction at Finglas at 11.15pm.
Gardaí stopped the car and arrested the men after they became suspicious of evasive answers.
Gloves were taken from Jamie Berry which were analysed and found to contain particles of firearms residue.
The movements of the two cars were also tracked on CCTV and the prosecuting counsel said both cars were "parked up" that afternoon in Sandford Gardens in readiness for the shooting later.
The prosecution says that Mr Mulvey drove the Hyundai hatchback there earlier that day.
Jamie Berry has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and criminal damage to the property which a bullet went into.
Stephen Mulvey has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
The trial before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon is continuing.
