A senior Kinahan gang member has lost his appeal against his conviction for a feud murder for which he is serving life in prison.
Freddie Thompson was jailed for the murder of David "Daithi" Douglas who was shot dead in his partner's shoe shop in Dublin in July 2016.
Thompson had been driving a Ford Fiesta that was involved in the murder plot.
The car was seen interacting with other vehicles and individuals involved in the plot on the morning before the shooting.
Thompson’s fingerprints and DNA were found in the Fiesta and another car, a Mitsubishi, also used in the attack.
The cars had been used to deliver the killers to the car used in the murder and to escort it to the killing.
The Fiesta also drove past the shoe shop, 'Shoestown' four minutes before the shooting, in what Mr Justice Tony Hunt described as a "final check" before the gunman arrived to carry out the "planned execution".
Thompson argued before the Court of Appeal that his conviction should have been overturned because of the quality of CCTV footage used to identify him, breaches of his privacy and the lack of Garda records in relation to his identification.
However, today he lost on all grounds and in a lengthy judgment, Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh dismissed his appeal.
The court found the CCTV footage used as evidence against him was admissible and agreed there was no breach of Thompson’s privacy.
"Individuals walking down a public street, driving a car on a public road, or even eating a meal in a restaurant open to the public do not, in this day and age, have a reasonable expectation that their movements will be immune from CCTV observation," said Ms Justice Ní Raifeartaigh.
Thompson is a close associate of senior Kinahan gang leaders, including Daniel Kinahan and Liam Byrne.
He acted as a chauffeur and bodyguard for the gang and also sourced drugs and guns for it.
He lived in Spain when he was wanted here but was arrested for the murder by Detective Superintendent Paul Cleary in a toilet at the City North Hotel in 2017 after he flew in for a gang meeting in Dublin.
He has been in custody since and continues to serve his life sentence for murder.
David "Daithi" Douglas was the ninth victim of the Hutch Kinahan feud. The murder weapon was left beside his head after he was shot dead on 1 July 2016.
Thompson is one of four men who have been jailed in connection with the murder.
In June 2021, 34-year-old Lee Canavan from Edenbrook, Rathfarnham, Dublin was jailed for life for his part in the joint enterprise or shared intention to murder Mr Douglas.
However, the court did not agree with the State's contention that Canavan was "the person who literally pulled the trigger", owing to a lack of forensic or identification evidence.
In 2019, 24-year-old Nathan Foley of Maryland, Dublin was jailed for six years after he pleaded guilty to assisting a criminal organisation by driving one of the four cars and buying mobile phones used in the offence.
28-year-old Gareth Brophy of Reuben Walk, Dublin 8, was jailed in February 2020 for ten years for his role as getaway driver.
