The murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe was carried out in less than a minute in a “highly organised” operation by a group of people motivated by money, the Central Criminal Court has been told.

The detective was shot dead seven years ago in Co Louth while on an armed Garda cash escort.

Aaron Brady (28) is charged with the murder of Det Gda Donohoe, a member of An Garda Síochána acting in the course of his duty, at the Lordship Credit Union in Bellurgan, Co Louth, on January 25, 2013.

Mr Brady is also charged with the robbery of approximately €7,000 in cash and assorted cheques from Pat Bellew at the same location on the same date.

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The accused, of New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Yesterday, prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan SC outlined the State’s case in his opening remarks.

He said the robbery had been a “very slick operation, highly organised” with quite a number of people working together as a team.

“It was carried out, the prosecution say, for a base criminal motive. This was done for money and nothing else,” he said, adding that from the investigation there was nothing to suggest a connection “whatsoever with any kind of cause”.

Delayed

On the evening of Friday, January 25, 2013, gardaí were escorting credit union takings from four branches on the peninsula – Omeath, Carlingford, Cooley and Lordship.

At the beginning of the escort, staff were being followed by two uniformed gardaí from Omeath garda station because detective gardaí from Dundalk were delayed.

One of those uniformed officers, Mr Grehan said, was the late Garda Tony Golden who was shot dead two years later in an entirely unrelated incident.

Det Gda Donohoe and his colleague, Det Gda Joe Ryan, took over the escort and arrived at the Lordship Credit Union at 9.25pm to escort a worker from a separate credit union and Mr Bellew, a worker at the Lordship Branch.

The cars were leaving the car park at 9.29pm when another vehicle blocked the exit.

Within 58 seconds, Mr Grehan said, the events of the day unfolded.

Four young, athletic males wearing balaclavas hopped over a back wall of the credit union’s car park, two armed with guns, the court was told.

One of the men had been armed with a shotgun and the other with a handgun, counsel said.

“Both men went directly and with deliberation and without hesitation to the Garda car,” he added.

The jury was told that Det Gda Donohoe, who had stepped out to see what was blocking the exit, “was blasted in the face with the shotgun, it was fired at close range, no more than the width of a car. He died instantly”.

“He never, it would appear, [have] had the opportunity to draw his weapon, it was still in his holster,” Mr Grehan said.

Det Gda Joe Ryan was pinned in the driver’s seat of the car with two guns pointing in his face, before being told “words to the effect ‘I’ll f***ing kill you, don’t move, I’ll shoot'”, the court heard.

One of the raiders smashed the window of the car belonging to Mr Bellew and grabbed a bag, and a handbag was stolen from the car of another branch worker, counsel said, but the raiders did not target another vehicle belonging to a credit union worker which contained €27,000 in cash.

The court was told the four men then fled in a stolen Volkswagen Passat driven by a fifth raider, with Mr Grehan adding: “All that happened in 58 seconds,” Mr Grehan said.

Curious

He said that the accused in this case, Aaron Brady, was 21 years old at the time of the robbery and murder, and was in the company of two friends on the day in question.

A “distinctive” car driven by one of Mr Brady’s friends was seen in the vicinity of Lordship Credit Union about 2pm on the afternoon of January 25, 2013, he told the court.

Mr Grehan said a “curious thing” happened on the evening of the murder, in that Aaron Brady’s phone, and those of his two friends, went “off the radar” between around 8pm and 10.30pm.

It will be the prosecution’s case that on the day of the robbery, Aaron Brady sent a text message saying he would “be busy” that evening, specifically between 8pm and 10pm.

“Aaron Brady left Ireland shortly after the robbery and murder as the investigation ramped up and he went to the US and settled in New York,” Mr Grehan said, where the accused believed he was “beyond the reach of the long arm of the law”.

The prosecution also said Mr Brady appeared to be “under money pressure” coming into the weekend of January 25, 2013, but “he was indicating that this money pressure would be solved after the weekend”.

The court was told that, the day after the murder, Aaron Brady lied to gardaí about his alibi.

Earlier, Brendan Grehan said that the accused in this case ess presumed to be innocent and that he came into the court “cloaked in the presumption of innocence”.

The trial will continue this morning.

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